Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World

Rating:
Summary: So what?
Review: Americans are fat because they eat too much. Having digested that fact, one needs no further information from this book.

True, an educated and erudite explanation of how the tragic obesity epidemic in this country arose would be of great value and interest. (Of course, a similar but far less serious situation obtains in most countries that have adopted western culture.) But this work suffers from so many egregious scientific and historical errors, unsupported hypotheses, unjustified conclusions and just plain sloppy reasoning that it is difficult to take anything seriously. These evils are compounded by a plodding and immature writing style that gives the reader the sensation of swimming through a Mcdonalds milk shake.

Avoid this book like a Big Mac and take a walk instead.

Rating:
Summary: Thin Man's Burden
Review: It's not exactly a huge stretch to encourage people to blame indolence or a lack of ambition for obesity in people. That's panders to every basic assumption people have ever had about it. But is it true? The science indicates that your body weight is to a large part dictated by a genetically-determined setpoint-- in combination with the food environment you find yourself in, and probably lastly, your "willpower."

Most non-obese people who have never been heavy are quick to assume that obese people must have poor self-control. And it does play a role. I personally started inexplicably gaining weight in fourth grade, having been a skinny kid, and have lost as much as seventy pounds in one go on more than one occasion. I have control of my weight now, and I expect to forever. One thing I do is stay away from sugar and largely away from potatoes.

I'll tell you one thing-- I went on Meridia, which basically tells your hypothalamus "stop sending the eating craving, we've achieved our target weight." It's biochemically complicated how it works, but essentially your fat cells secrete a substance when they're "fat enough" that tells your hypothalamus to stop causing you to crave food (and this has nothing to do with being "hungry" like hunger pangs). This is accomplished by raising the amount of certain neurotransmitters in your hypothalamus to simulate the same situation genetically thin people enjoy naturally. Meridia is not speed, it doesn't feel like speed, in fact it doesn't feel like anything. You just aren't inclined to eat nearly as often, just like genetically thin people.

And the thing that infuriates me after 20+ years of a bad self-image where, despite the fact that I learned how to fly at age 24, made 90 grand a year by age 29, owned a home and an aircraft by age 30, et cetera, all kinds of things that took a lot of work and focus, I still felt like I must be lazy and self-indulgent because I was overweight. Yet when given the same neurochemical conditions as a lot of smug thin people with a drug, I effortlessly lost and maintained my weight, never thought about food much, never ate for pleasure, AT ALL, EVER, just enough to get by.

So when guys like this not only get almost all of their facts wrong, and clearly have an attitude akin to a mental caste system based on body weight, all I can say is, why don't you come compete with me, boy? I was fat 28 years, even when I could bench over 330 pounds, and I'll beat you at whatever you think you're good at.

I remember wondering why it was that I was capable of making myself do extremely hard, unpleasant things for extended periods, but was flabby (not huge, but pretty flabby) while all kinds of absolute idiots that couldn't hold themselves back from a single self-indulgent, impulsive thought to save their lives were skinny. People who take the easy way out of every single situation but somehow look great naked. How someone can be blinded by prejudice to the degree that they don't understand that a predisposition to obesity is genetic, I'll never understand. Or that me being more ashamed of being overweight would make me lose it. I couldn't possibly have been more ashamed. Yet I was probably three times the athlete (albeit with a good layer of pork over him) this guy ever was.

I'm getting married next month and my fiancee's matron of honor weighs 300 pounds. She's got an IQ of at least 140. You know what? I'm proud to have her up there because she's got a lot of character. The last thing I would think would be the way to help her would be to make her feel more ashamed. What a fool if he thinks overweight is socially acceptable. What an absolute [rear]. He has no idea what it's like.

Go somewhere else. This guy doesn't know anything about nutrition, either. Best advice you can get is to eat like your grandparents did, same stuff, even meatloaf, but stay away from all the empty carbohydrates, hydrogenated fats, stuff like that. Veggies, meat and light on the starch, that's what they would have told you to watch your weight 75 years ago and it's still true. That's what the research is showing. Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to try medication if you've got a significant problem, there's no shame in it.

Rating:
Summary: This guy made me enjoy reading a book on diet!
Review: When read as a whole, Greg Critser's book is very convincing in its description of the steep decline of America's physical condition. His presentation of numerous studies on the subject of diet and exercise (or lack thereof) in the United States made a frightening impression on me. However, the most compelling aspect of Critser's book wasn't so much the compilation or distillation of the scientific studies discussed, but rather the author's courage in describing what should be more evident to everyone but has remained unmentionable up till now -that we Americans have a serious problem.

Fatland points the finger, to be sure. But not all the blame rests on the easy targets. It may not be so difficult to blame big companies for fishing for profit by supersizing everything and then convincing consumers that they're getting a bargain. But this book has the moxie to take on those on the right who kickstarted the overabundance of food with imprudent trade and farm policies as well as the left for their overemphasis of one's fragile self-esteem when it comes to matters of eating sensibly. Other institutions such as churches, schools, and even well-meaning parents were not spared when Fatland reached its conclusion.

Generally I am not drawn to books on diet, but this one is different. Fatland successfully engages the reader to look ahead to a frightening future for this country if it does not change its ways. Buy this book!

Rating:
Summary: A change-agent
Review: If you want something to talk about, read this book! My colleague and I were on a business trip and I had taken two books to read: Fat Land and a novel I was finishing up. Since she had forgotten her book, I gave her Fat Land to read with a caution: "DON'T TELL ME A THING ABOUT IT BECAUSE I WANT TO READ IT MYSELF." Poor thing... now I know how she felt. While I was reading it, I had to share every moist detail about fat and food AS I read.
The book is an anthropological-sociological-governmental look at the American diet. It is scientifically sound and remarkably informative. When I was finished, I decided that I would go through our pantry and discard anything made with High Fructose Corn Syrup or an unidentified oil. This book will open your eyes and hopefully keep your tummy flat.

Rating:
Summary: America, the land of the fat.
Review: Greg Critser's new book, "Fat Land," is a searing look at America's obesity epidemic. Approximately sixty percent of Americans are overweight and twenty percent are obese. Almost one quarter of Americans under the age of nineteen are too heavy, a figure that has doubled in the last thirty years. Although affluent Americans are not all thin, a disproportionate number of poor people are obese. Many of the working poor and their children are becoming diabetic as a result of their eating habits.

How did Americans get so fat? Critser examines the economic, political and cultural trends that have led to this terrible health hazard. The use of cheap fats to make foods taste better and maximize profits for manufacturers is one factor. The decrease in physical education programs for children and the introduction of fast food outlets in schools is another. Critser also blames parents for abdicating their roles as influential authority figures who should be monitoring what their kids eat.

The tone of "Fat Land" is a bit too strident, and the endless statistics and studies that Critser cites to bolster his arguments slow down the narrative considerably. The author's moralizing about gluttony and will power comes across as patronizing. His dismissal of the dangers of anorexia and his insistence that parents should control what their kids eat is naive.

Unfortunately, most of the ideas that Critser offers to reverse America's obesity epidemic are unlikely to work. In today's fast-paced society, parents and children rarely sit down together to eat nutritious meals. Schools, with their austerity budgets, are probably not going to pour money into physical fitness programs. Children are not likely to abandon their computers and video games to become more physically active. Fast food outlets will not sacrifice profits to improve the health of their patrons.

Therefore, "Fat Land" is at best a wake-up call for those who are willing to face some harsh facts. The food that we put into our mouths may determine not only how long we live, but also how healthy we will be as we get older.

Rating:
Summary: Phat Chance
Review: It's pretty clear that most of the positive reviews here are written by pals of the author--or the author himself--they're so slick, just like his book. This book is NOTHING LIKE Fast Food Nation--it's a puffed up opinion piece--as the REAL readers agree (check out the earlier reviews--the ones that don't read like they were bought and paid for.) There is nothing in Fat Land that we don't already know. His basic argument is that we are fat because we lack will power--and "boundaries"--what a news flash! Yeah, yeah, he talks about high fructose corn syrup, and palm oil--but so what? We had other oils and sweetners before--why make these the villans? As other REAL readers have pointed out, his science is totally wrong (I'm a physiologist by training.) I'm neither fat nor a member of the fat acceptance movement, but I found his constant name calling and fat baiting nauseating. He seems to think that industry is the good guy, and consumers are the bad guys--we're too stupid to know how to take care of ourselves, and if we'd just buck up we'd all be happy and healthy--like HIM. Simplistic, slick, a sham...

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a sensible take on the subject--and a good read
Review: Clearly, judging by the reviews here, this author has offended the Zone and Atkins diet types and the fat-is-beautiful types. But it's about time somebody told the truth. We're fat because we eat too much, and our culture pushes us to do so. That said, I wouldn't have read this book ordinarily. It was only the excellent New York Times review by Michael Pollan, whom I like, that made me read it. But I highly recommend it. It's a whopping good bunch of tales, well told and amusing. And you'll come out the other end thinking differently about things like that Big Gulp at the 7-11.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all of us who eat.
Review: This book gives us the back story on all the food that we eat, how it got to be so bad for us and what it means us in terms of our health. There's so much information, but Greg Critser tells us in a way that's easy to read and with wit. There is, however, a serious wake-up call that we shouldn't ignore. If you eat, read this book. It will change the way you think about food and, more than likely, for the healthier.

Rating:
Summary: [modified 25 Jan 03]
Review: [text 925 words]
With the talent for writing that gets him published in USA Today, Harper's Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times, Critser has produced an easy-to-read, well-edited, and highly entertaining expose of American fattening. A number of unsurprising trends are highlighted and their origins uncovered, such as increasing portion sizes at fast food chains and in soft drinks; the pollution of school cafeterias by big junk food corporations; and the use of high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten and thicken almost everything. TV and other food ads aimed at children come in for their fair share of blame as well.

One of Critser's more glaring blunders, even if by omission, shared by The American Diabetes Association, which is cited, is that simple sugars do all the damage leading to type 2 diabetes and obesity. The notion of glycemic index (GI), now >80 years old, never entered Critser's mind. The GI is measured in humans by checking blood glucose levels after eating. The GI of a food shows the % glucose levels rise compared with the same weight of glucose (GI = 100). One of the things that creates high (bad) insulin levels is high blood glucose levels. Since all the common complex carbohydrates (starches) in foods are polymers of glucose, and some of them are metabolized very rapidly into glucose, and we eat more of them by weight, the contribution of wheat, corn, potato and other forms of high-GI starches to poor health is greater than that of many of the the simple sugars. The so-called low-carb diets must be low GI diets to be effective, and they really are for weight loss, and the prevention of type 2 diabetes (Bernstein 1997, Ottoboni 2002).

This relates to the next blunder claiming that the Atkins, Sears, Eades diets do damage because of Critser's false representation that unlimited calories are recommended or allowed. This was accompanied by the blunder that all carbohydrates were eliminated, including the ones with very low GI from fruits and vegetables. As it happens, clinical trials have shown that low GI diets are the only ones most people can maintain. The usual sensible recommendation is for 40% calories from low-GI carbohydrates, 30% from fats, and 30% from proteins (Eades 2000, McGee 2001, Ottoboni 2002).

On the same plane in blunderland, Critser actually succumbed to the biggest misinformation in the history of medicine: that eating saturated fat and cholesterol causes obesity or clogged arteries or heart disease (p15,140). This nonsense originated with a campaign by the American Heart Association (AHA) begun in 1961, and its anti-cholesterol, pro-polyunsaturated fat campaign, which peaked in the 1980s. Nothing in the Framingham, MRFIT, or any other honest study actually supports this anti-fat stand, despite the politically correct summaries of many of the studies. (Moore 1989, Smith 1991, Fehily 1993, Fraser 1997, Tunstall-Pedoe 1997, Eades 2000, Enig 2000, Kauffman 2000, Kauffman 2001, McCully 2000, McGee 2001, Ottoboni 2002, Ravnskov 2000). The occasional success of people on the Pritikin and Ornish diets may be due to lower total calories or avoidance of bad fat. Also, many other lifestyle changes were made in addition to diet. Fat makes the stomach empty more slowly, thus keeping the blood glucose concentrations lower (Enig 2000).

Speaking of bad fat, Critser's dump on palm oil (p13-19) is totally unfounded based on actual cohort studies (Wood 1993, Enig 2000). To "compound the felony" Critser failed to warn about the really bad fats, namely the omega-6 fatty acids among the polyunsaturated fats such as soybean, corn, safflower and sunflower oil (Wood 1993, Enig 2000, Vos 2003), nor was there much on eating the good omega-3 fats (Vos 2003). Not a word about avoiding trans fats, as though this were still in doubt (Willett 1993, Oomen 2001). Even the AHA began to warn about trans fats in 2002. Among the saturated fats, the medium-chain ones are lower in calories (8 kcal/g) than the unsaturated ones (9 kcal/g), and the 18-carbon stearic acid in cocoa butter and tallow are so indigestible that these fats provide only 5.5 and 7.5 kcal/g (Finley 1994).

"When new immigrants were asked whether rest was more important or better for health than exercise, a large portion 'always says yes'. The attitude was doubly corrosive..." (p70-71). Critser seems not to be able to imagine that most new immigrants do hard manual labor in their employment, and they are correct to choose rest. Critser's unquenchable recommendations for exercise have some merit (Bernstein 1997), but the only prospective, randomized study of exercise after heart attack found no effect of exercise on all-cause death and a slight benefit of exercise on cardio-vascular mortality for the first few years, disappearing at 5 years (Dorn 1999).

While Critser was correct to pick on Reuben Andres, MD, for certain reasons, Critser fell for the nonsense that being leaner is better and leads to longer life. Granted there was confounding, but one of the best studies found that in both men and women the relation between weight or body mass index (BMI) and heart deaths or all-cause deaths was U-shaped, not inverse; that is, those of middle weight and middle BMI lasted the longest (Tunstall-Pedoe 1997). And so it was also with energy intake (Fehily 1993, Tunstall-Pedoe 1997). Smoking was indeed very bad for lifespan.

If the reforms Critser recommends were implemented, based on only the problems he described, my guess is that about 1/3 of the obesity problem in the US would disappear, thus a rating of 2 stars.

For complete references cited e-mail me.

Rating:
Summary: A Chubby Review on a Chubby Book by a Chubby Person
Review: Yes, if you follow my reviews, you will safely conclude that I am if fact, chubby. Two hundred sixty five pounds of good new fashioned American blubber! And who do I have to blame? Yes, despite what the trial lawyers try to get you to believe (fat chance!), it is pretty much my fault! Greg Critser has descibed my foibles remarkably well in "Fat Land : How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World". I am largely lazy (I drive everywhere in my small town in my Kia when I should be using my rarely seen feet), I love McDonald's fries (no one tricked me into eating these tasty death sticks) and all the palm oil I can get my pudgy fingers on (there are enough escaped fries under my Kia's drivers seat to feed France for a month!), I actually do own stock in Coca Cola because I have drunk enough of their high fructose corn syrup loaded cans of obesity to pay in full several hefty dividend payouts, and I LOVE BEEF JERKY! But, the best part of all, and well covered in this book, is the complete lack of shame that people direct at me. I know what they're thinking, but progressive America these days is so hung up on "not hurting anyone's feelings" (even if they really are as fat and lazy as wallowing pigs) that I can pork up as much as I want and those people will still be paying for my diabetes treatment in ten years! What a great country! Yes, I do need to "take charge" of my life and Greg Critser has done a fine job in this book describing how I got myself into this unctuous mess and how I (and America) can get out of it. Highly recommended!