Rethinking Thin

Gina Kolata has just written a book called "Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss -- and the Myths and Realities of Dieting."  Kolata is one of the NYTimes' top science reporters, and her book chronicles the difficulty people have of losing weight, explores the genetic bases for obesity, and even suggests that the outcry over obesity is overblown.  Moreover, she suggests that perhaps the obesity "epidemic" exists because we're actually in beter health, and maybe, even, the extra pounds contribute to our well-being.  Kolata offers a point of view that is provocative and counter-intuitive, and which should be a great relief to those of us who have trouble losing a few pounds.

The New York Times has written a very thoughtful and positive review of the book, and Amazon offers it for sale:

Comments

[Kiwi Carlisle]

I finally lost the weight I was having trouble losing, because I lost the relationships that went with the weight. I was in some bad relationships, with men who "liked me fat" and who were always dragging me out for fast food, during which I put on sixty pounds. So, over the past three years (I didn't crash diet, or anything), I've gotten back to my target weight. I do, however, come from an overwhelmingly thin family, so I don't have genetics to contend with. I do have to watch myself for some bad old food habits (the aforementioned fast food, my love for bags of chips, junky candies and "juices" full of corn syrup, etc.) that have to stay undone. If I'd done this earlier, I might have not have had to get double bunion surgery at an early age, and my knees might have been healthier for years longer. The cartilage in my right knee pretty much gave out and I went through months of painful therapy for it. The extra weight I was carrying was really too much for my frame.

So, how do you define "health"? It's all debatable. I do feel better now that I weigh what I once did. My BMI is 20.4, by the way.