The successful father and son franchise of Dr. Phil and Jay McGraw continues with The Ultimate Weight Solution for Teens. Here, Jay translates the seven keys that made Dad's diet book a mega seller into a smart, supportive teen manifesto for tackling unwanted pounds, body image problems and eating disorders. He uses examples and web postings drawn from his survey with 10,000 teenagers to underline a powerful message: "Weight is not about the size or your Levis or a number on the scale. It's about whether you use food to take care of your body or to abuse it." McGraw's approach is mind over milkshake, skewering the negative thoughts ("I can't have fun if I have to watch what I eat") that keep teens from experiencing "weight freedom." He examines self-defeating filters (denial, approval seeking , perfection, comparison)that distort a healthy approach to weight and also suggests a "peer and parent response plan" to avoid sabotage. He teaches how to scan the environment for eating cues. Even when McGraw rounds up the usual suspects--exercise and a sermon about sugar--he conveys a fresh and relevant message of self-knowledge. The wisdom of McGraw's approach to teen readers is this focus on thoughts and feelings, rather than on the third helping of pizza. --Barbara Mackoff
