My Family Talked About Weight Loss Constantly. Here's How It Affected Me.

by Deirdre O'Hagan

''With both obesity and eating disorders an increasing cause for concern, what can we do to guide the teens in our midst in the right direction? Stop talking about weight, says new research.

Guidelines from the American Journal of Pediatrics recommend that parents and doctors should avoid "weight talk" in front of children. According to the study, parents who count calories and comment on weight — either on their child's or their own — put their children at a higher risk of developing symptoms of disordered eating.

At the age of 12, I could rattle off Weight Watchers points with my times tables. It wasn't something I had made a vested effort in, it was just absorption. For as long as I could remember, any reference to food was followed up by some kind of a comment on its potential to abet or destroy the pilgrimage toward weight loss...''