Big Fat Lies

There are many, many things I loved about this–mainly that Gaesser takes a completely empirical approach to examining the fat phobia currently afflicting most of America (health professionals included). The data is, in fact, quite damning of this panicked and moralistic view of “excess” weight (Have your doubts? See this peer-reviewed summary of the main points: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/55.full). I also really like his completely sane and actually achievable recommendations regarding physical activity, which can be boiled down to the idea that activity in the broadest sense, even at low levels and broken into short spurts throughout the week, is what is beneficial (not sweat-drenched workouts that take place at a fancy gym under the watchful eye of a personal trainer). But...BUT...despite the fact that Gaesser is eminently reasonable about so many things, he ends his book by making recommendations (albeit reasonable) about a relatively low-fat approach to food. And that's my problem. It's a diet in sheep's clothing. My bias is that I think that someone who works to become a reasonably effective intuitive eater can and will learn to eat food that averages out to be healthy enough over time, but as a result of having and listening to their actual appetitive urges as opposed to top-down self-regulation. My bias is also that that's the most compassionate way to achieve long-term goals, for those who choose to make them for themselves. Despite the “BUT,” this was still well-worth reading.