If you're the parent of an overweight kid haven't heard of the book "Eat This, Don't Eat That," I would be quite surprised.  When it first came out, it got rave reviews.  Although it was first published a while ago, I just recently got around to reading it this past summer after a parent-friend of mine recommended it.  Her child had spent the summer at a fitness camp and she read the book while she was gone.  For the most part, I think this book could be beneficial to overweight adults or kids, although I did have some reservations. 

Let's begin with the good - the book is well organized and contains a lot of good, practical advice.  Personally, I really like the first chapter, which explains the eight rules for childhood nutrition.  The goal here is to educate parents and kids alike about the general problems with the more common diets that are eaten today.  Of course, the biggest problem in society is misinformation.  A lot of people understand what a healthy diet should consist of on some level, but they don't understand how the more common foods that we eat (driven by our obsession with modern day conveniences, for example) fit in (or don't fit a all) to the ideal diet.  Things like super-sized portions and "hidden" sugars make it difficult for people to know how what they're eating really fits in to a "recommended diet."

The book is also great because it makes comparisons between some popular kids foods, forcing parents to think about these foods next time you buy them.  In most cases, I was surprised with the results.  For example, did you know that Spaghetti O's have fewer calories and less fat than Macaroni & Cheese?  It also provides recommendations for things to pick off of menus for kids when your family eats out - such as choosing grilled chicken breasts over chicken fingers, and so on.

However, I do think that the book has a couple of limitations.  First, I could see it being misused, and second, I don't think there was enough emphasis on fitness and exercise. 

Misuse:  What I'm getting at by saying that I see potential for the book to be misused is this:  the book contains a lot of good advice for things like eating out and making healtheir choices on the go (e.g. at a convenience store) for your kids.  However, if people only take those things away from the book, and do not make any changes in the rest of their diet (eating at home, etc. which probably makes up the majority of your diet), they are really not going to do their child much good. 

Fitness:  It is no secret that children today live a much more sedentary lifestyle than kids did 15 years ago.  As such, I think the authors should have placed a bit more emphasis on exercise.  Drastic changes in diet are really going to be that much more effective if changes are also made in the exercise levels of the kids.  The book does dedicate a chapter at the end of the book to fitness, but in my opinion, it was not enough. 

Overall, I would say that this book is worth reading, so long as the parents that do read it take it upon themselves to supplement the information provided in the book with some exercise.  This is the approach taken at weight loss camps and has been proven to be successful.  However, in and of itself, this book can be helpful in getting your child on the path to living better.