Give Food a Chance

by Julie O'Toole

Give food a chance arises from the clinical experience of Dr Julie O’Toole, MD, MPH over more than a decade of treatment for eating disorders in children and young adults. Dr O’Toole rejects former theories that claim such disorders are caused by poor parenting, issues of control, rejection of adulthood, or society’s oppression of women. Instead, the author’s thesis is that anorexia in particular is a chronic, highly heritable brain disorder. The book is written for any parents or professionals who care for children with eating disorders.

Genres: Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Julie O'Toole was born in Salt Lake City, daughter of a four generation Heber City family, and raised there until age 9 when her family moved to Palo Alto. She attended Reed College and the University of Washington where she received a degree in Botany (Mycology), and moved to RWTH Aachen in Germany, where she received her degree as a medical doctor. She further trained in Hawaii and Samoa and practiced general pediatrics until 1998 when she founded the Kartini Clinic to care for eating disordered children. She is a mother of two, a step mother of another wonderful two and a grandmother of two. She has published two books: one a fictional account of social robots (Botboy my Botboy) and the other a guide for parents and physicians who care for children with eating disorders (Give Food A Chance).

Reviews

[Kelsey Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by the doctor who started the Kartini Clinic here in Portland, Oregon. I started reading the ebook while my daughter was in their Partial Hospitalization Program and while I was up at night feeding my new baby. My daughter has since been released from the clinic, and, as excellent as the information in this book was, I cannot bring myself to finish it now that we are out of that phase. One of the biggest takeaways is exactly what the doctor told my husband in the hallway of the hospital after diagnosing my daughter with Anorexia Nervosa. She said, "You did not cause this, and she did not choose it."

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, well-researched book on anorexia. Compassionate and thoughtful. One problem: she had a very non-judgmental approach EXCEPT when it came to cooking and family meals. Eat and cook together is an important idea AND a little simplistic given the complicated subject matter.

[MaryAlice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Pediatrics Resident Physician, and this book was loaned to me during my Adolescent Rotation, as I have the privilege of working with the author. I must admit, the title was a bit off-putting for me (don't worry, it won't be once you start reading). This book was fantastic and eye-opening, even as a senior resident. It describes the importance of treating eating disorders as a type of brain disorder, without any of the blame lying on the patient or their family for "causing" the eating disorder (similar to how we need to treat all "mental disorders" such as depression, anxiety, etc). "Give Food a Chance" also stresses the importance of re-feeding the brain FIRST (hence the title), prior to expecting the patient to participate in meaningful discussions or training regarding their disordered eating, and that the responsibility of feeding the patient is to rely solely on the treatment team while inpatient/step-down, and on the PARENTS while outpatient. I highly recommend that anyone going into Pediatrics or Family Medicine read this book sooner rather than later. I honestly wish I had read it as a medical student! This book was written for health care professionals as well as for parents of eating disorder patients, and I highly recommend this book for both audiences. Dr. O'Toole's chapter on food phobias was also quite enlightening.

[Eva Musby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the top books for parents of a child with an eating disorder. I love the clarity and passion with which Julie O'Toole, the founder of the Kartini Clinic, writes, both in this book and in her blog. There is an excellent section on the causes of eating disorders, the effects of food restriction (as revealed in the Minnesota semi-starvation study), and the sorry history of treatment approaches, including how parents came to be blamed and excluded from their children's treatment.

Julie O'Toole is a fierce advocate of the role of parents. She describes how the Kartini Clinic works, with its hospital, day unit, and outpatient unit, how parents are involved, and how flexible meal-plans (which are included in the book) are devised. She explains her (to many parents, controversial) reasons for not including fast foods or sweets for an entire year. There are excellent sections introducing the lay reader to the anatomy and physiology of the brain, and explaining the role of psychotropic medication. There are also explanations about target weight gain, ideal body weight and how it is determined.

This book will not give you any advice on how to get your child to eat at home. If that's what you're looking for, check out my own book and videos on www.evamusby.co.uk as well as the fantastic resources from FEAST (www.feast-ed.org)

You might also want to skip some of the details about how the Kartini clinic works - I imagine these sections are in for the benefit of other clinicians. But all in all, this is an important, instructive and highly readable book for parents, which I highly recommend, along with the other eating-disorder related books I've reviewed.

Eva Musby (www.evamusby.co.uk)

[Joan Enders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received Give Food a Chance from the publisher for review, and quickly gave it to one of our school counselors to read. She devoured it. (Pun intented). The approach to helping a person with eating disorders was unique. She stresses and illustrates that blame for the disorder has been counterproductive to treatment. Poor parenting, society's view of women, or control are not the issues, but that anorexia nervosa is a disorder of the brain. When you hear that, anyone would agree, of course! But we must understand that is not the way it is often treated. Though the counselor loved the book she was emphatic that is it for counselors, parents, and medical professionals, not for students. So the book will not grace my library shelves, but the shelves of Lisa Maxey, wonderful counselor that she is to share her opinions of this fascinating book with me.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

GIVE FOOD A CHANCE by Dr. Julie O' Toole is a great educational tool for both parents and professionals. This book is based on clinical experience for over a decade.
It is a thought provoking book concerning eating disorders in young adults and children.It is a great educational tool and I would recommend it for anyone who has a child with a eating disorder or anyone who is interested in eating disorders.Very informative with clinical trials.the role of the family,and what to expect.This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at Perfectly Scientific Press and My Book Addiction Reviews.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative for parents who have children with eating disorders, especially anorexia.

[Julie O'toole]

I learned how much is owed to the patients when a doctor learns about any illness.