Reviews
Cooper,, a physician and preventive medicine specialist, has raised our fitness consciousness by popularizing aerobic exercises in five books including The Aerobics Program for Total Well-Being ( LJ 11/15/82). Cooper`s concern with the declining fitness levels of today`s youth has prompted this book aimed at parents who want to teach their children the basics of sound exercise and good nutrition. He offers wise advice on how to motivate kids and test their fitness and recommends a system of aerobic, strength, and flexibility training keyed to the child`s developmental level. Cooper doesn`t include as many exercises with photographs as Bonnie Prudden`s Fitness from Six to Twelve (Ballantine, 1987) nor does he cover the individual sports and school programs found in Bob Glover and Jack Shepherd`s Family Fitness Handbook (Penguin, 1989), but neither title has recipes and as good nutritional focus. All public libraries, and academic libraries supporting physical education programs, should acquire this book. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/91. Sandra Math, St. John`s Univ. Lib., Staten Island, N.Y.
This exhaustive work by ``father of aerobics`` Cooper ( Controlling Cholesterol ) will be welcomed by parents concerned about high levels of cholesterol in their children and how a child`s ``tendency to baby fat`` (and, often, heart disease) can best be countered. The book is full of interesting and important data, case studies and the doctor`s sound advice about how to inspire reform in children and what to expect at what stage of development. ``It`s important for adults to be understanding and patient,`` he admonishes. However, Cooper`s opus is almost too comprehensive. An entire section is devoted to well-conceived recipes for snacks, sandwiches, soups and desserts, and much information is provided for parents of teenagers, ranging from such topics as ``specificity training`` and ``overloading`` to the use of steroids (mainly, how a parent should react if he or she suspects the teenager is using them). While this might be useful for a family of seven running the gamut of ages in children, most heads of smaller families may want to concentrate on only a few stages of development, leaping immediate hurdles and foregoing the big picture. (Aug.)
