Over the past year, a steady barrage of news reports has made childhood obesity a national obsession. Studies have announced that physical education is on the decline, soda has eclipsed milk and water as the youth beverage of choice, and super-sized fast food contributes too large a percentage of calories to children’s diets. A recent New York City health department study found that more than 40% of New York City public school students are overweight, challenging conventional wisdom that city kids are in better shape than their country cousins.

Capitalizing on this media blitz, nutritionists, obesity experts, and psychotherapists have been busy typing up book proposals – some advocating obesity prevention in schools and communities, others focusing on how to break free of the societal fixation on weight that got us here in the first place. Concerned parents searching for ways to improve their families’ health habits can now choose from several titles offering support and solutions.

“Help is on the way,” nutritionist Sharron Dalton promises at the end of her scholarly approach to the obesity epidemic, “Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic”(University of California Press, $24.95). If the anti-smoking movement has achieved success, she proposes, why can’t those who fight childhood obesity achieve similar results? Ms. Dalton stresses that although families can do much to help children live healthier lifestyles, parents can’t do it alone. One of the strongest sections of the book is the final chapter, in which Ms. Dalton presents her mobilization plan for how schools, communities, private industry, and government can tackle the problem. One strategy, for example, is a Teach for America-like corps of young people who would work with children in guiding them toward nutritious food choices and providing organized activities as alternatives to long after-school sessions of video games and TV.

On a more intimate, family level, Ms. Dalton’s passion for this subject occasionally leads to some well-meaning but awkward ideas. She proposes holding weekly “fruit/vegetable ceremonies” or family discussion groups to introduce children to new and unusual produce (“take a bite, then discuss the color and texture and where the item comes from”).To fight fat discrimination, Ms. Dalton suggests reading from the “fat literature” genre aloud as a family and discussing the issues involved. She spends an inordinate amount of time on fiction featuring overweight characters, including William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” Judy Blume’s “Blubber,” and even J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. But it seems that a more logical way to address this problem would be to talk to children in a way that is relevant and immediate, asking them about what’s going on at school and helping them to develop empathy for classmates who are teased or even bullied about their weight.

Child psychologist Dr. Sylvia Rimm addresses ways to empower young people to confront the emotional challenges of obesity in “Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children: What Our Kids Go Through – And How We Can Help” (Rodale, $21.95). Her goal is not to prescribe specific nutrition plans or exercise regimens (although she does offer many of those as well), but to provide parents with “rescuing techniques” for overweight children’s psyches. Dr. Rimm appears frequently on the “Today” show, according to the book’s jacket (Al Roker wrote the foreword), and her book often reads like a segment on a morning talk show, with bulleted lists of suggestions that are, in fact, nothing you couldn’t come up with yourself.

Dr. Rimm is also very fond of her four-page survey of middle-school students, which was the impetus for her book. Most chapters begin with a presentation of results from this survey; there are so many bar graphs and percentages that the reader’s eyes soon glaze over. The findings are troubling but rarely surprising – which leads one to wonder why half of each chapter is devoted to them.

More interesting and revealing are Dr. Rimm’s interviews with adults discussing the heartbreak of what it was like to be an obese child – and the strategies that helped them survive adolescence. If only Dr. Rimm had included a few more interviews from her focus groups with more than 300 children. And her insistence on using “overweight” as a noun – as in, “Gail was given pleated plaid skirts and gathered dresses, which accentuated her overweight” – quickly becomes grating.

The secret weapon against obesity, implies Dr. Naomi Neufeld in her book “KidShape: A Practical Prescription for Raising Healthy, Fit Children” (Rutledge Hill Press,$16.99),is…photocopying. Dr. Neufeld claims that her weight-management program, centered around weekly workshops for the entire family, has helped more than 10,000 children lose weight since 1986.Thanks to the program’s many worksheets and charts, which must be photocopied for each family member (about 86 pages or so), it’s possible that she has also killed more than 10,000 trees.

“KidShape” is essentially a weight-loss boot camp in book form. The 8-week program (families can take more time to complete the program if they desire) requires participants to meet for group readings, discussion, and activities. That’s not all: Family members commit to eating together at least five times a week, exercising together at least three times a week, keeping food logs, food journals, and completing homework assignments. Participants must take a fitness test before the program is started. Dr. Neufeld even requires families to purchase a food scale.

“NOT A DIET!” proclaims the back cover copy. But “KidShape” seems suspiciously similar to a diet. Monitoring portion sizes, calories, and fat grams is important, and on more than one occasion Dr. Neufeld advises participants faced with unhealthy temptation in social settings to say, “Thanks, but I’m on a diet.” And there’s little guidance for those who temporarily fall off the wagon. Dr. Neufeld would most likely claim that her approach is an adjustment to a healthy lifestyle, not merely a temporary diet. But isn’t negotiating with waiters about how an entree is prepared a restrictive way of living? That said, Dr. Neufeld’s insistence on having the entire family participate is persuasive. “KidShape” is so regimented and all-encompassing that it would probably work for families who need structure and aren’t turned off by the commitment and discipline required.

Could it be that it’s not our children’s bodies that need adjustment, but our thinking? If your child eats primarily wholesome foods and is active, says Kathy Kater, author of “Real Kids Come in All Sizes” (Broadway, $14), then he or she will naturally achieve his or her ideal weight. This anti-diet philosophy acknowledges the genetic diversity of the human race and the idea that there is only so much one can control. The only remedy for eating disorders, sedentary lifestyles, and poor diets, Ms. Kater argues, is a holistic approach that encourages healthy choices and acceptance of our bodies’ normal, natural weights. To that end, she offers 10 essential lessons to help children develop healthy body image.

Ms. Kater’s views are logical and highly sensible. She falters, however, when she proposes heavy-handed, often clumsy exercises. One particularly blundering example is a “parable” about the fictional Namuh people, intended to impart lessons about the pressures of an image-obsessed society. (Note what “Namuh” spells backwards.) In another chapter, Ms. Kater has children build an “identity mobile” to convey the concept that we need to have a balanced sense of ourselves. The lessons on nutrition and exercise are much more practical; children chart their efforts to meet the nutritional requirements of the USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid and track their movements in an Activity Diary. These recommendations are wise, reasonable, and, most importantly, they are realistic.

Nutritionist and eating-disorder expert Frances M. Berg exhaustively researched her book “Underage & Overweight: America’s Childhood Obesity Crisis – What Every Family Needs to Know”(Hatherleigh Press, $24.95). Unfortunately, the result is dry, repetitive, and sorely in need of copyediting. Occasionally, it reads not so much like a book about the obesity epidemic as a college-level survey of dietary culture in America. This is a shame, because at its core, “Underage & Overweight” contains a liberating and refreshing message: Any child, regardless of size, can be happy and healthy.

Like “Real Kids Come in All Sizes,” Ms. Berg’s book promotes a health centered approach to nutrition and activity – the Health at Any Size movement – as a way to confront obesity as well as the disturbing rise of eating disorders. Increasing physical activity is especially crucial in her recommendations. She writes, “In this country we are under whelmed by activity advice and overwhelmed by food advice.”

Sadly, the reader must wade through many heavily footnoted chapters of statistics, studies, and tables in order to reach the key to Ms. Berg’s action plan – good health is achievable right now through a wholesome diet and increased daily activity. It is not something one can only attain after losing pounds. Weight loss may be a happy side effect of healthy living, but in Ms. Berg’s paradigm it’s less important than overall wellness. While “Underage & Overweight” sometimes reads as if it is directed at other nutrition professionals or academics, the final chapters offer solid advice for families that are ready to make positive changes – and leave the dieting cycle forever behind.