Hi Megan,
I'm not a parent but I can give you my own perspective. I grew up with a mother who had a very negative image of herself and her body (she said as much to me when she visited this summer) so she was always on some diet. Unfortunately I matured in the 80's when low-fat diets were just beginning be the rage. My mom took me to Weight Watchers when I was 14 and since then I have been on and off diets. I would go on, losing some weight, then get sick of it and gorge (I'm a compulsive eater) and gain weight again. I know it comes from her always searching for some new diet.

And ironically, it was her search that brought me to Atkins! She was the one who introduced me to it in 2002 although she only stayed on it for a week because the 80's spiel of high-fat evils is so ingrained on her. But I stuck with it (on and off) and now I'm back on for good. In fact, I'm trying to get my dad on it because of health reasons (his blood pressure is starting to get very high).

That's just my end of it (as a daughter :-) ) I can say, working in the mental health field (or studying to ) that food issues, especially for women, are very very complicated and more than just a matter of what you were taught to eat and not eat at home.

Tam