Marlene Boskind-White and William C. White Jr.

About the author: Marlene Boskind-White, a professional counselor, has a private practice in Roanoke, Virginia. William C. White Jr., a clinical psychologist, was director of the Gannett Mental Health Clinic at Cornell University at the time of writing. The authors cofounded the Carriage House Clinic in Virginia, which they managed for many years.

Young girls and boys start learning to hate body fat very early in life. Even before the onset of adolescence, they already learn the message of "desirable slim bodies" from various sources: the home, the school, the mass media, and their peers. Girls, however, are more prone to dwell on the matter internally. Boys, in general, look out for activities to wrestle out their insecurities; girls, on the other hand, react passively by turning...