Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss - and the Myths by Gina Kolata

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss - and the Myths Gina Kolata Book  2007  24.00 Rating: B

Rethinking Thin is essentially a 257-page refutation of the popular mindset that fat people are fat because they are:

1. Lazy
2. Gluttonous
3. Uncontrolled or
   
4. Psychologically unhealthy

Kolata, a science writer for The New York Times, approaches this emotionally charged argument instead via a number of studies, many of which were really very interesting and led to the conclusion that fat people are fat for a number of reasons which may include the above but also stem from biology, genetics,  and the body's strong evolutionary tendency to maintain a set weight.  They also disproved the notion that fat people were any more psychologically damaged than thin people.

What's hard about writing a "review" for this type of book is that I can't illustrate what's interesting without repeating verbatim the information the author gives in the book.  But there is a ton of fascinating data here, and Kolata also includes a short history of dieting, and a personal look at several members involved in a weight loss study comparing a low-calorie diet to the Atkins diet.  She also discusses the fact that society seems aggressively close-minded when it comes to results of weight loss research that do not conform with the public mindset that it is a fat person's fault that he is fat.  

I know I'm not doing this book justice, but if this subject sounds even faintly interesting to you, do check this book out.  It's well worth a read and really made me think.

tags: books  nonfiction  weight  weight loss  fat people