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 Fat
Land - How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World
by Greg Critser
 Fat
Land - How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World
by Greg Critser from (Cover on the right from the UK edition).
Buy it from Amazon.com
or from Amazon.co.uk
 Over
the last few years there has been a deluge of reports in
the media on the dangers of obesity and the exponential
growth in sufferers of type 2 diabetes (see the latest report
Diabetes on the Increase). In spite of this, the number
of obese people, particularly in the USA, is increasing.
This is the background to
Fat Land by Greg Critser. Once overweight himself,
he lost weight after being called 'fatso' by a stranger.
In the book he examines in detail the causes
behind the growing weight problem in America where many people
are not only overweight but morbidly obese to the extent that
it is affecting the quality of people's lives and also bringing
about early deaths.
Even more worrying, the number
of obese children is on the increase leading to diagnoses
of type 2 diabetes. The author says, "In 1992, for
example, most pediatric diabetes centers in the United States
reported on 2 to 4 percent of their diabetes patients as
type 2. Two years later that figure had jumped to 16 percent
of new cases. By 1999 the figure in some parts of the country
[USA] would zoom to nearly 45 per cent of new cases."
Why has this happened? What
has changed?
Greg Critser mainly lays
the blame at the doors of fast food chains and government.
With the advent of cheap burgers, pizzas, tacos, etc, eating
out has now become the norm for many Americans. The giant
portions they expect are loaded with fat, sugar and salt
leading to a huge increase in calorie intake. Coupled with
this, government has not been willing to impose restrictions
on the fast food companies whilst at the same time it has
cut back on money available to schools for PE and other
organised exercise activities.
The author points out that
generally the rich are not obese. He argues that this growing
epidemic is an issue of class.
This is a well researched
book with an interesting and well considered theory to account
for the increase in obesity in America. The author backs
up his ideas with facts and figures as well as opinions
of leading experts in the field.
Here in the UK we might feel
inclined towards smugness when reading this book especially
as it is sub-titled 'How Americans Became the Fattest People
in the World'. However, the lessons need to be learned here
too as the British are also facing an increased incidence
of type 2 diabetes and other weight related health problems.
Read the book and you will probably give up fast food even
quicker than they can serve a burger.
Quick Facts
Title: Fat Land
Author: Greg Critser
ISBN: 0618164723 (USA); 0713997397
(UK)
Price: $16.80 (USA - hardback),
£9.99 (UK - paperback)
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Co (USA); Allen Lane The Penguin Press (UK)
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Copyright © 2003 Carol
Fisher
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