The Skinny on Fat: Our Obsession with Weight Control - Softcover

As a society, we are more health conscious than ever before, yet one in four Americans is considered obese. The confusing bombardment of information we receive daily about diet and exercise has done little to answer the perennial question -- "What's the best way to lose weight?"Separating fact from fiction, The Skinny on Fat examines weight gain and health from a scientific point of view, describing what recent research tells us about how our bodies work, why we gain weight, and whether we should diet at all. Some of the topics it covers include: -- The weight control drugs of yesterday, today, and tomorrow -- Diet and exercise -- The molecular and genetic basis of weight -- Is obesity a disease? -- Getting thin the healthy way -- The future of weight control Not a miracle program for weight loss, The Skinny on Fat is a revealing look at how the scientific view of obesity has resulted in a new definition of fat -- one that contains more biology and less guilt. It is essential reading for anyone, regardless of weight, who is interested in living a healthier life.

Shawna Vogel a former editor at Discover magazine, is the author of Naked Earth: The New Geophysics. She writes for various popular science and health magazines, including Scientific American, Earth, Discover, and Health.