Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, Rethinking Obesity invites readers to reconsider the medical and public health framing of population weight (gain) as a massive global problem, epidemic or crisis. Attentive to social values, scientific uncertainty and possible harms, the book furthers critique of the weight-centred health paradigm and world war on obesity. Building upon existing international literature from critical weight studies, fat studies and critical obesity research, the book advances scholarship with reference to body politics and health policy, epidemiology and obesity science, media reporting and weight-related stigma. The authors resist the common moralised narrative that ‘the overweight majority’ are lazy, gluttonous, and personally responsible for their actual or potential ills and the solution ultimately necessitates individual lifestyle change. Critique is also extended to seemingly compassionate public health interventions that putatively avoid victim-blaming through an appeal to ‘the obesogenic environment’, a consequence of modern living. Empirical case studies are grounded in women’s repeated and often frustrating experiences of dieting and schoolgirls’ encounters with fat pedagogy, which challenges dominant obesity discourse. Recognising that declared public health crises may become layered and cascade through society, this book also includes timely research on the COVID-19 pandemic response amidst concerns about lockdown weight-gain, heightened risk of infection and death among people deemed overweight and obese. Rethinking Obesity interrogates how social injustice is reproduced not only through cruelty but also through seemingly benevolent representations, pedagogies and policies. Alternative approaches and action, ranging from weight-inclusive health paradigms to broader social change, are also considered when seeking to foster collective hope in crisis times. This is valuable reading for students and researchers in medical sociology, social and population health sciences, physical education, critical weight and fat studies, and the social dimensions of the body.

In this eye-opening book, New York Times science writer Gina Kolata shows that our society's 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. Kolata's account of four determined dieters' progress through a study comparing the Atkins diet to a conventional low-calorie 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 one's 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 dieting—scientific 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 obesity—giving us a better understanding of the weight that is right for our bodies.

Abstract: This volume of the Journal of Obesity and Weight Regulation is devoted to one article which reevaluates our ideas and treatment of obesity. The authors suggest that the health risks of obesity have been greatly overestimated and that our efforts to control weight gain may be less than beneficial for many patients. Their skeptical appraisal of the data makes it clear that some of the interpretations of current research may be less than objective. It is suggested that authoritative public statem ents on the health implications of obesity that place great emphasis on associated hazards run the risk of provoking potentially harmful responses by an alarmed public.

After a century of misunderstanding the differences between diet, weight control, and health, The Case for Keto revolutionizes how we think about healthy eating—from the best-selling author of Why We Get Fat and The Case Against Sugar. Based on twenty years of investigative reporting and interviews with 100 practicing physicians who embrace the keto lifestyle as the best prescription for their patients' health, Gary Taubes gives us a manifesto for the twenty-first-century fight against obesity and diabetes. For years, health organizations have preached the same rules for losing weight: restrict your calories, eat less, exercise more. So why doesn't it work for everyone? Taubes, whose seminal book Good Calories, Bad Calories and cover stories for The New York Times Magazine changed the way we look at nutrition and health, sets the record straight. The Case for Keto puts the ketogenic diet movement in the necessary historical and scientific perspective. It makes clear the vital misconceptions in how we've come to think about obesity and diet (no, people do not become fat simply because they eat too much; hormones play the critical role) and uses the collected clinical experience of the medical community to provide essential practical advice. Taubes reveals why the established rules about eating healthy might be the wrong approach to weight loss for millions of people, and how low-carbohydrate, high-fat/ketogenic diets can help so many of us achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life.

"Beyond the Body: Rethinking Weight, Reframing Health" is a revolutionary book that explores the fundamental causes of the obesity epidemic in great detail, exposing myths along the way and offering long-lasting, transformative remedies. This trendsetting book, which is supported by decades of painstaking study and an extensive collection of scientific papers and articles, is not simply about losing weight; rather, it's about taking back control of your body and creating a lasting road to well-being. "Beyond the Body" is a light of information in a world where quick cures and fad diets are the norm. It emphasizes that education is the key to achieving ideal body composition and metabolic health. This is a path to empowerment and being the master of your own body and fat loss, not just another diet plan. Explore a plethora of knowledge obtained from a thorough investigation of the underlying causes of obesity. This book offers a new perspective that goes beyond appearance alone, transcending the stories that are too commonplace. "Beyond the Body" is a call to action, imploring readers to rethink their health and challenge conventional opinion. Adopt a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond appearances and gives you the means to attain long-term well-being. Get ready to set off on a life-changing journey that will lead you to comprehend the complexities of your body and the subtle elements that contribute to weight growth. Bid farewell to restricted diets and hello to a fresh perspective on the requirements of your own body. With "Beyond the Body," set out on a mission to genuinely thrive rather than just lose extra weight. This book is your road map to taking back control of your body, redefining health, and living a life free from the confines of the typical. Your body deserves to be mastered.

Obesity science has reached a crossroads: The carbohydrate hypothesis is poised to overtake "calories in, calories out" as the predominant understanding of weight gain. Physicians, dietitians and trainers have come to treat "carbs are bad" as a new gospel, preaching a lifestyle that strays very far from the true scientific consensus. In "What Is Fat For?" Ignatius Brady, a weight loss physician and science writer, presents a fresh perspective on obesity based on critical new research that has gone largely overlooked. The protein leverage hypothesis holds that neither dietary fat nor dietary carbohydrate "cause" us to gain weight. The issue is re-framed and discussed as an imbalance between "protein" and "non-protein" energy. A current imbalance in our food supply has caused a widespread human adaptation: the obesity epidemic. In a thorough yet readable style, the book takes the reader through normal human weight regulation, the time frame needed for weight loss, and what's missing in the "carbs are bad" thinking. This is not a diet book, but a scientific exploration of the inner workings of human biology and our interactions with the modern nutritional environment. The question, "What is fat for?" drives this narrative, which takes nothing for granted, analyzes all possibilities and presents detailed evidence for the reader's best judgment. Biases are overturned, accepted wisdom is re-considered and new answers are discovered.