A Big Fat Crisis
The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic - and How We Can End It
New York : Nation Books, [2014]
Format: Book
All of us were born with the capacity and inclination to eat more than we need. In a world where there is too much food, we currently have no constraints that limit our natural tendencies to automatically eat what is readily available. The author, a doctor has created a new work that will transform the national conversation surrounding the weight crisis in this country and throughout the world. Based on her own research at the Rand corporation, as well as the latest insights from behavioral economics, psychology, cognitive science, and the social sciences, this book reveals the surprising forces behind the obesity epidemic and how we, as a nation, can overcome it. Her conclusions contradict conventional wisdom and widely held expert opinion, and go against our own intuitive beliefs about the way we eat. They represent, in short, a paradigm-shift in how we approach the problem of obesity-and the solution. The book argues that the obesity epidemic is the product of two forces: (1) Immutable aspects of human nature, namely the fundamental limits of self-control, the lazy decision-making of the brain's non-cognitive system, and the automatic and unconscious way that we are hard-wired to eat; and (2) A completely transformed food environment: all of the food-related elements of our surroundings, including food stores and restaurants, prices, portion sizes, the types of food available to us, and food marketing and advertising. This book offers concrete solutions, arguing that the most important and modifiable steps in the chain of events that leads to obesity are at the point of purchase and the point of consumption. Like cholera and typhoid in the 19th century, obesity is a public health crisis. Ending it requires solutions that transcend individual behavior. Change begins with a fresh perspective and a clearer vision of what we need to do. We can tackle the obesity epidemic. We just can't do it alone. -- Provided by publisher.
Subjects:
Obesity -- United States.
Obesity -- Government policy -- United States.
Obesity -- United States -- Prevention.
Overweight persons -- Social aspects -- United States.
Public health -- United States -- Planning.
Obesity -- United States.
Obesity -- Government policy -- United States.
Obesity -- United States -- Prevention.
Overweight persons -- Social aspects -- United States.
Public health -- United States -- Planning.
ISBN:
9781568589671 (hardback)
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
HEALTH Condition Weight Coh | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
HEALTH Condition Weight Coh | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
More Formats
Includes bibliographical references and index.