John Acquaviva, PhD
Catholic Speaker, Professor, Author
What others are saying...
“We live in a media culture with a vested interest in making us feel bad about our bodies. And it works. Google “body hatred” and a list of 24 million sites dealing with the issue pop up. In hearing many sobering tales as a college educator the past two decades, John Acquaviva eventually found the antidote to poor body image in the glorious teachings of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. John provides a positive, hopeful path to being at home and at peace with our bodily-selves. The “body image crisis” has never been greater, but this book gives great reason to hope!”
Christopher West
Author, Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing
“This book blew me away. I read it twice in the past few days. It makes you realize how misplaced societies values are and how easy it is to get caught up and distracted from what’s truly important."
Sarah B.
Frederick, MD
About "Raising Kids with a Healthy Body Image"
“Building upon the timeless teachings of the Church, edified by saints and scripture, and penned from a practical parent's perspective, Raising Kids With a Healthy Body Image: A Guide for Catholic Parents is a great tool to help you raise happy, healthy and holy children.”
- Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com
“Spiritual and practical, this edifying book belongs on every parent’s bookshelf."
– Kate Wicker, Author of Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body
"Every Catholic parent should read, re-read, and apply Dr. Acquaviva’s Raising Kids With a Healthy Body Image: A Guide for Catholic Parents. Indeed, every parent -- period.
- Kevin Vost, Psy.D., author of The Porch and the Cross and Memorize the Mass!
About "Improving Your Body Image Through Catholic Teaching"
“John takes us to the heart of who we are and what we were meant to be”
- Teresa Tomeo, author and EWTN radio host
“John Acquaviva has done a great service to the Church. His book is a terrific resource for helping people appreciate and fully develop the gift of the body and celebrate how fearfully and wonderfully they are made in God's image."
– Greg Popcak, author and EWTN radio host
Drawing heavily from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, and always faithful to the Magisterium, John encourages readers who struggle with eating disorders and body image distortion.
- Rev. Mr. Mark J. King, Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte,NC
Professor John Acquaviva is an extraordinary teacher and gifted writer. This beautifully written book provides keen insights into all of the most important issues related to body image and society’s unrelenting pressure to be perfect. Dr. Acquaviva’s sound theological understanding takes this subject to where all others have fallen short. He masterfully connects body, mind and spirit into a whole. I highly recommend this wonderful book to you.
- Dr. Bill Thierfelder, President of Belmont Abbey College
John provides needed spiritual solutions and physiological facts to support you along your path to total wellness.
- Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com
"Improving Your Body Image Through Catholic Teaching" is a wonderful resource, especially for Catholics, who work with young people."
- Father Jack Petersen, Director of Youth Apostles and Campus Minister Loyola Marymount (Arlington, VA).
About John's Presentations
“Pope John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body’ is a great resource to help young adults address poor body image. Dr. Acquaviva’s talk was both natural and compelling. He helped our young adults understand the gift of the human body and how to love what God has given them.”
- Kateri J. Schmidt, Coordinator of Youth Ministry, Arlington Diocese, VA
"John Acquaviva’s presentation on body image presents a message that is important for people especially young people to hear. In addition to telling people not to obsess over false body images, he presents the history of body images to show there are alternative ways of looking at ourselves. He shows the need to ask first what it is that makes me truly healthy, and let that determine what I look like."
- Fr. Peter Giovanoni, Pastor Our Lady Queen of Peace, Washington DC
"Dr. Acquaviva clearly explains the divide between the body image our culture demands of us and the one God created for us. As a young woman, he helped me to understand that my faith plays an important role in how I should view my body and health. It is more than just about gaining self-esteem but about seeing the body the way God intended us to."
- Rosemary Tonoff, George Washington University Campus Ministry student
"Most of today’s messages on exercise and nutrition are sales pitches with impossibly quick fixes and sometimes unhealthy results. Dr. Acquaviva, through advanced educational degrees and lifetime experience, has obtained expertise in both nutrition and exercise. His presentation will contain an easy to understand summation of scientific principles for proper nutrition and exercise that will lead to healthier lifestyles."
- Robert Beaudet, PhD, Department Chair of Physical Education at Western Carolina University
"Dr. John Acquaviva presents an upbeat and provocative presentation on Christian Body Image. As an exercise physiologist and a college professor, he presents the necessity for and science of physical fitness as stewardship of the body God has given us, weaving his presentation with Scripture and magisterial teaching as the lens through which Christians must approach their physical well-being. He is an excellent and compelling speaker and a deeply committed Catholic."
- Father Gregory R. Kandt, Pastor, Church of the Incarnation, Charlottesville, Virginia