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We don’t have to diet anymore!

March 12th, 2008 Lisa - Central

Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with weight.  Don’t ask me why; I don’t really have a weight problem.  I also love Gina Kolata.  I discovered her a few years ago whe she wrote a fascinating book on the 1918 influenza epidemic.  So when dieting and Kolata came together in Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss–and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, I of course had to check it out. 

Kolata is a science writer for The New York Times.  What she seems to like to do is to refute the current wisdom on the topics she analyzes.  So, what do we all believe about weight loss?  That if our will power was strong enough, if we chose the right diet, if we exercised more, we could lose those last 10, 25, 100 pounds.  Look at The Biggest Loser, the Subway guy, Oprah.  If they can do it…..

Kolata contradicts all this.  She starts the book off by following several subjects in a 2-year study comparing the Atkins diet and a low-calorie diet.  She charts how for the first few months they lose consistently until a certain point where weight loss no longer happens or they gain it back.  And how each person blames themselves for their failure.  But is it really their fault?

In between the chapters on the study, Kolata outlines the genetic and biochemical complexities of appetite and weight control.  It’s pretty clear that weight is genetically set and that we have much less control over it than the diet industry wants us to believe.  We can lose only a small percentage of our body mass; our genes won’t let us do more.  She also presents a reliable study that has found that being overweight is not unhealthy, and is probably more healthy than being very thin.  Many groups are squashing that one.

While the book bogged down a tad as Kolata got technical with appetite biochemics and study method details, I was able to follow, and understand even, all she presented.  I’m certainly convinced by her arguments, especially since the evidence is apparent every day with every diet.  Shoot, even with personal trainers, special cooks and tons of money, Oprah gained her weight back.

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction