In this eye-opening book, New York Times science writer Gina Kolata shows that our societyβs obsession with dieting and weight loss is less about keeping trim and staying healthy than about money, power, trends, and impossible ideals. Rethinking Thin is at once an account of the place of diets in American society and a provocative critique of the weight-loss industry. Kolataβs account of four determined dietersβ progress through a study comparing the Atkins diet to a conventional lowcalorie one becomes a broad tale of science and society, of social mores and social sanctions, and of politics and power.
Rethinking Thin asks whether words like willpower are really applicable when it comes to eating and body weight. It dramatizes what it feels like to spend a lifetime struggling with oneβs weight and fantasizing about finally, at long last, getting thin. It tells the little-known story of the science of obesity and the history of diets and dietingβscientific and social phenomena that made some people rich and thin and left others fat and miserable. And it offers commonsense answers to questions about weight, eating habits, and obesityβgiving us a better understanding of the weight that is right for our bodies.
Media Buzz
On Point - July 11, 2013 Talk of the Nation - June 29, 2007 All Things Considered - May 23, 2007 Colbert Report - May 2, 2007
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