The Fattening of America

The Fattening of America
Author: Eric A. Finkelstein
Publisher: Wiley + ORM
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2010-12-29
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1118045033

A guide to how America became the fattest nation, and how the food industry and the government keep it that way. In The Fattening of America, renowned health economist Eric Finkelstein, along with business writer Laurie Zuckerman, reveal how the US economy has become the driving force behind our expanding waistlines. Blending theory, research, and engaging personal anecdotes, the authors discuss how declining food costs—especially for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods—and an increasing usage of technology, which make Americans more sedentary, has essentially led us to eat more calories than we burn off. Praise for The Fattening of America “[Finkelstein and Zuckerman] show that our entire society profits from making people fat and then either keeping them fat or making them thin again. When you understand how these powerful forces work, you can do a better job of resisting them—and staying healthy.” —Jack Challem, bestselling author of The Food-Mood Solution and Stop Prediabetes Now “Everyone who eats food in America must read this book. It is a comprehensive guide to how we’ve become the fattest nation on the planet and how the food industry, in cahoots with the government, makes us one of the least healthy nations.” —Fred Pescatore, MD, MPH, CCN, author of The Hamptons Diet “The authors have done an excellent job talking to mainstream America about obesity. It brings together all of the latest research and packages it in a way that is engaging for the average person. I very much enjoyed the book and would recommend it for anyone interested in obesity. Well done.” —James O. Hill, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and author of The Step Diet: Count Steps, Not Calories to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever “An important book for everyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the underlying causes behind the obesity epidemic and options for addressing it.” —Barry Popkin, Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition at the University of North Carolina

The Fattening of America

The Fattening of America
Author: Eric A. Finkelstein
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2008-01-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470124660

In The Fattening of America, renowned health economist Eric Finkelstein, along with business writer Laurie Zuckerman, reveal how the U.S. economy has become the driving force behind our expanding waistlines. Blending theory, research, and engaging personal anecdotes the authors discuss how declining food costs—especially for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods—and an increasing usage of technology, which make Americans more sedentary, has essentially led us to eat more calories than we burn off.

Fat Land

Fat Land
Author: Greg Critser
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2004-01-05
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0547526687

“An in-depth, well-researched, and thoughtful exploration of the ‘fat boom’ in America.” —TheBoston Globe Low carb, high protein, raw foods . . . despite our seemingly endless obsession with fad diets, the startling truth is that six out of ten Americans are overweight or obese. In Fat Land, award-winning nutrition and health journalist Greg Critser examines the facts and societal factors behind the sensational headlines, taking on everything from supersize to Super Mario, high-fructose corn syrup to the high costs of physical education. With a sharp eye and even sharper tongue, Critser examines why pediatricians are now treating conditions rarely seen in children before; why type 2 diabetes is on the rise; the personal struggles of those with weight problems—especially among the poor—and how agribusiness has altered our waistlines. Praised by the New York Times as “absorbing” and by Newsday as “riveting,” this disarmingly funny, yet truly alarming, exposé stands as an important examination of one of the most pressing medical and social issues in the United States. “One scary book and a good companion to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Fat Studies Reader

The Fat Studies Reader
Author: Esther Rothblum
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2009-11-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 081477640X

Winner of the 2010 Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology Winner of the 2010 Susan Koppelman Award for the Best Edited Volume in Women’s Studies from the Popular Culture Association A milestone anthology of fifty-three voices on the burgeoning scholarly movement—fat studies We have all seen the segments on television news shows: A fat person walking on the sidewalk, her face out of frame so she can't be identified, as some disconcerting findings about the "obesity epidemic" stalking the nation are read by a disembodied voice. And we have seen the movies—their obvious lack of large leading actors silently speaking volumes. From the government, health industry, diet industry, news media, and popular culture we hear that we should all be focused on our weight. But is this national obsession with weight and thinness good for us? Or is it just another form of prejudice—one with especially dire consequences for many already disenfranchised groups? For decades a growing cadre of scholars has been examining the role of body weight in society, critiquing the underlying assumptions, prejudices, and effects of how people perceive and relate to fatness. This burgeoning movement, known as fat studies, includes scholars from every field, as well as activists, artists, and intellectuals. The Fat Studies Reader is a milestone achievement, bringing together fifty-three diverse voices to explore a wide range of topics related to body weight. From the historical construction of fatness to public health policy, from job discrimination to social class disparities, from chick-lit to airline seats, this collection covers it all. Edited by two leaders in the field, The Fat Studies Reader is an invaluable resource that provides a historical overview of fat studies, an in-depth examination of the movement’s fundamental concerns, and an up-to-date look at its innovative research.

Death by Supermarket

Death by Supermarket
Author: Nancy Deville
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2011
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1608321150

The epidemics of obesity, disease, low IQ, and depression are the result of a new source of malnutrition caused by chemically loaded, nutrient dead ''science fiction'' food made in factories. Nancy Deville masterfully links America's obsession with factory food and our growing reliance on the pharmaceutical industries. This well-researched guide based on scientific studies reveals the imminent danger behind the low fat/low cholesterol diet and links the introduction of this diet to the proliferation of high-fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil, endocrine disrupting soy, neurologically damaging aspartame, and other unhealthy ingredients that pervade factory food. You do not have to stay fat, depressed, or sick, tethered to pharmaceuticals and dreading old age. It's never too late to begin reversing the effects of factory food. Death By Supermarket shows you how to quit dieting and taking drugs, provide your body and brain with nutritional building blocks, and reclaim your genetic potential -- including your ideal body weight -- by choosing a historically eaten diet of real, whole, living food.

Obesity in America, 1850-1939

Obesity in America, 1850-1939
Author: Kerry Segrave
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2008-08-29
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0786441208

This is a study of obesity in America from 1850 to 1939, concentrating on how the condition was viewed, studied, and treated. It examines the images and stereotypes that were associated with fatness, the various remedies that were proposed for the condition, and the often bizarre theories used to explain it, including the idea that ordinary tap water was fattening. From about 1850 to 1879, obesity existed almost exclusively among the upper class, and it received very little medical attention. From 1880 to 1919, doctors, scientists, and other health professionals began to present a coherent theory of obesity. By 1920, the condition was recognized as a big enough health issue that various groups, ranging from private employers to public health officials, began developing some of the nation's first organized weight reduction programs.

Why Diets Make Us Fat

Why Diets Make Us Fat
Author: Sandra Aamodt
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2016-06-07
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0698186664

“If diets worked, we'd all be thin by now. Instead, we have enlisted hundreds of millions of people into a war we can't win." What’s the secret to losing weight? If you’re like most of us, you’ve tried cutting calories, sipping weird smoothies, avoiding fats, and swapping out sugar for Splenda. The real secret is that all of those things are likely to make you weigh more in a few years, not less. In fact, a good predictor of who will gain weight is who says they plan to lose some. Last year, 108 million Americans went on diets, to the applause of doctors, family, and friends. But long-term studies of dieters consistently find that they’re more likely to end up gaining weight in the next two to fifteen years than people who don’t diet. Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt spent three decades in her own punishing cycle of starving and regaining before turning her scientific eye to the research on weight and health. What she found defies the conventional wisdom about dieting: ·Telling children that they’re overweight makes them more likely to gain weight over the next few years. Weight shaming has the same effect on adults. ·The calories you absorb from a slice of pizza depend on your genes and on your gut bac­teria. So does the number of calories you’re burning right now. ·Most people who lose a lot of weight suffer from obsessive thoughts, binge eating, depres­sion, and anxiety. They also burn less energy and find eating much more rewarding than it was before they lost weight. ·Fighting against your body’s set point—a cen­tral tenet of most diet plans—is exhausting, psychologically damaging, and ultimately counterproductive. If dieting makes us fat, what should we do instead to stay healthy and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions? With clarity and candor, Aamodt makes a spirited case for abandoning diets in favor of behav­iors that will truly improve and extend our lives.

Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols

Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2012-01-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309218233

During the past decade, tremendous growth has occurred in the use of nutrition symbols and rating systems designed to summarize key nutritional aspects and characteristics of food products. These symbols and the systems that underlie them have become known as front-of-package (FOP) nutrition rating systems and symbols, even though the symbols themselves can be found anywhere on the front of a food package or on a retail shelf tag. Though not regulated and inconsistent in format, content, and criteria, FOP systems and symbols have the potential to provide useful guidance to consumers as well as maximize effectiveness. As a result, Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to undertake a study with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine and provide recommendations regarding FOP nutrition rating systems and symbols. The study was completed in two phases. Phase I focused primarily on the nutrition criteria underlying FOP systems. Phase II builds on the results of Phase I while focusing on aspects related to consumer understanding and behavior related to the development of a standardized FOP system. Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols focuses on Phase II of the study. The report addresses the potential benefits of a single, standardized front-label food guidance system regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, assesses which icons are most effective with consumer audiences, and considers the systems/icons that best promote health and how to maximize their use.

Fat Politics

Fat Politics
Author: J. Eric Oliver
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2005-11-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199839115

It seems almost daily we read newspaper articles and watch news reports exposing the growing epidemic of obesity in America. Our government tells us we are experiencing a major health crisis, with sixty percent of Americans classified as overweight, and one in four as obese. But how valid are these claims? In Fat Politics, J. Eric Oliver shows how a handful of doctors, government bureaucrats, and health researchers, with financial backing from the drug and weight-loss industries, have campaigned to create standards that mislead the public. They mislabel more than sixty million Americans as "overweight," inflate the health risks of being fat, and promote the idea that obesity is a killer disease. In reviewing the scientific evidence, Oliver shows there is little proof that obesity causes so much disease and death or that losing weight is what makes people healthier. Our concern with obesity, he writes, is fueled more by social prejudice, bureaucratic politics, and industry profit than by scientific fact. Misinformation pushes millions of Americans towards dangerous surgeries, crash diets, and harmful diet drugs, while we ignore other, more real health problems. Oliver goes on to examine why it is that Americans despise fatness and explores why, despite this revulsion, we continue to gain weight. Fat Politics will topple your most basic assumptions about obesity and health. It is essential reading for anyone with a stake in the nation's--or their own--good health.

Why We Get Fat

Why We Get Fat
Author: Gary Taubes
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2011-12-27
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0307474259

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Taubes stands the received wisdom about diet and exercise on its head.” —The New York Times What’s making us fat? And how can we change? Building upon his critical work in Good Calories, Bad Calories and presenting fresh evidence for his claim, bestselling author Gary Taubes revisits these urgent questions. Featuring a new afterword with answers to frequently asked questions. Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century—none more damaging or misguided than the “calories-in, calories-out” model of why we get fat—and the good science that has been ignored. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid? Persuasive, straightforward, and practical, Why We Get Fat is an essential guide to nutrition and weight management. Complete with an easy-to-follow diet. Featuring a new afterword with answers to frequently asked questions.