The starting point must be - when did The Obesity Epidemic start? The graphs and tables show a stunning increase in obesity levels at the turn of the 1980's and obesity literally takes off, like an aeroplane trajectory, from that point onwards. Obesity in the UK, as an example, increases almost 10 fold between the 1970's and 1999 from 2.7% to 25%. So what happened?
The short answer is - we changed our diet advice. More accurately we did a U-turn in our diet advice. We used to believe (and our grandmothers still do) that bread and potatoes were fattening and we should put butter on our vegetables. We changed this completely to tell citizens of the `developed' world to base our meals on starchy foods and to replace nature's butter with man-made hydrogenated spreads. Coincidence or cause?
The Obesity Epidemic takes you through the actual documents that changed our diet advice, most importantly why the advice changed and what is stopping us from changing the advice back. This is a journey through the landmark turning points in the history of public health diet advice and the impact that this has had on obesity - and all the accompanying modern illnesses: heart disease; cancer; diabetes and the lack of well being that the average human suffers today.
If you currently believe that "energy in equals energy out" - be prepared to change your view, if you read this book with an open mind. If you think one pound equals 3,500 calories, you may be in for a surprise. If you assume that you will lose one pound for every deficit of 3,500 calories you create, you will see irrefutable evidence to the contrary. You will understand where five-a-day comes from and will hopefully revise your adherence to this marketing slogan afterwards. You will hopefully be shocked and appalled at the conflict of interest in the food and obesity industries. You may never drink fruit juice again.
With 400 references and every fact backed up with sourced and presented evidence - this is the most informative book on the subject of obesity ever written. You cannot fail to learn a great deal and to have your thinking continually challenged in a highly engaging way. The research for this book changed everything the author held to be true - read with an open mind - it could do the same for you. Love it or hate it, you have to read it.
The Obesity Epidemic: What Caused It? How Can We Stop It?
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Book Description
"The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it?" does what it says in the title - it answers those two critical questions. It takes you on the journey that the author, Zoë Harcombe went on to answer those questions and hopefully it will shock you as much as it shocked her.
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Review
"Zoë Harcombe unravels one of the biggest paradoxes of today..." --Lucy Johnston, Health Editor, Sunday Express.
"...everything we think we know about eating right and how to control our weight is, in fact, wrong." --Alice Hart-Davis. Award winning health & beauty writer
"In a series of rigorously sourced chapters Harcombe pulls apart many of the key tenets in the diet and nutrition industry" --Phil Chamberlain, Freelance journalist
"This book should be mandatory reading for all health professionals and for anyone who needs to lose weight!" --Julia Smurthwaite. Health journalist
"Zoë Harcombe has taken a surgeon's scalpel to the Alice In Wonderland World of obesity."
--Dr Malcolm Kendrick. Author "The great cholesterol con"
"...everything we think we know about eating right and how to control our weight is, in fact, wrong." --Alice Hart-Davis. Award winning health & beauty writer
"In a series of rigorously sourced chapters Harcombe pulls apart many of the key tenets in the diet and nutrition industry" --Phil Chamberlain, Freelance journalist
"This book should be mandatory reading for all health professionals and for anyone who needs to lose weight!" --Julia Smurthwaite. Health journalist
"Zoë Harcombe has taken a surgeon's scalpel to the Alice In Wonderland World of obesity."
--Dr Malcolm Kendrick. Author "The great cholesterol con"
From the Publisher
Columbus Publishing is thrilled to be launching "The Obesity Epidemic". Columbus was founded because the world is not flat and we want to publish books that challenge the status quo and make people think. The Obesity Epidemic does just that.
The book will likely be the `Marmite' of the obesity world - people will love it or hate it. It will be virtually impossible to be indifferent to it.
We suggest that those who love it will be the open minded and those with the integrity and compassion to want to make a genuine difference to the obesity epidemic. These people will likely already be disposed to the idea that we need to return to eating as nature intended and they have the common sense to realise that modern illness has its routes in modern substances - not in the real and natural foods that man and his ancestors have been eating for hundreds of thousands of years before we even realised the earth was round.
Those who hate it need to ask themselves why. The food and drink industry will hate it and we anticipate that they will try to attack it and the author. The drug industry will hate it, as the book offers a natural alternative as a solution to the obesity epidemic. Reprehensibly, many dieticians and diet advisors will also hate it - as they want to carry on pushing the current dietary advice, despite having no clue from whence it came or that there is no evidence for anything from five-a-day to the calorie theory.
The Obesity Epidemic is one of those rare books that can genuinely change the world. It just needs to be read with an open mind and a desire to help our fellow human beings.
The reviews thus far have been phenomenal. Barry Groves, Author of "Trick and Treat: How `healthy eating' is making us ill" said "The Obesity Epidemic is the most comprehensive demolition job on the arrogance and ignorance of the health profession I have ever read." Dr Malcolm Kendrick, Author of "The Great Cholesterol Con" said ", if by the end of it (this book), you have not changed the way you think about food and obesity - forever - you have clearly not understood what you have just read."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Lizzi S
Format:Hardcover
This book is an amazing revelation into exposing the "myths" & "corruption" that has occured over the last 20 years or so concerning dietry advice & recommendations. The only loser in all of this is us, the human race, who have been pawns in a sick attempt for the big corporations to make more money by recommending their foods to be the healthiest, so we go out and buy more. By eating these processsed carbs instead of natural REAL foods, we have become more unhealthy & suffered more from chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
If you are interested in the health of yourself or a loved one, I would recommend you to read this book before it is too late. The research has been thorough and extensive. When you realise that there has been no evidence to back up "5 a day" or "eat less, do more", then it makes you question beliefs that you have held onto your whole life. Reading this book has been a shocking but yet liberating experience. I for one will be sticking to real foods, after all, meat, eggs & vegetables got us through the first million years of our evolution, why should anyone believe that cereals & bread are better?
If you are interested in the health of yourself or a loved one, I would recommend you to read this book before it is too late. The research has been thorough and extensive. When you realise that there has been no evidence to back up "5 a day" or "eat less, do more", then it makes you question beliefs that you have held onto your whole life. Reading this book has been a shocking but yet liberating experience. I for one will be sticking to real foods, after all, meat, eggs & vegetables got us through the first million years of our evolution, why should anyone believe that cereals & bread are better?
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By LThomas
Format:Hardcover
Zoe Harcombe demolishes our current wrong diet advice piece by piece in a thorough and scientific way that is still accessible to the lay person. This book would have to make even the most hardened sceptic think twice about the validity of the current public advice being given.
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastically clear and a real poke in the eye for the medical profession
19 Oct 2010
By Mat
Format:Hardcover
This book is a fantastic and critical look at why the UK and the western world has got into the obese state it has.
The book takes the reader on a journey back to when diet research was done and then totally ignored because it didn't fit the hypothesis.
It shows the real reasons why we are getting fatter - Here's a clue, it is nothing to do with saturated fat consumption...
The book is fully referenced and explains complex scientific principles in a way that is easy to understand without oversimplifying things as to make them irrelevant.
I am a firm believer that nature knows best how to feed me and not food manufacturers; who are only really there to make a profit and this book has really backed up this belief.
I'd heartily recommend this book for anyone with any background to read - it is so accessible.
The book takes the reader on a journey back to when diet research was done and then totally ignored because it didn't fit the hypothesis.
It shows the real reasons why we are getting fatter - Here's a clue, it is nothing to do with saturated fat consumption...
The book is fully referenced and explains complex scientific principles in a way that is easy to understand without oversimplifying things as to make them irrelevant.
I am a firm believer that nature knows best how to feed me and not food manufacturers; who are only really there to make a profit and this book has really backed up this belief.
I'd heartily recommend this book for anyone with any background to read - it is so accessible.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What do you think makes you fat?
I'll bet a pound to a pinch of snuff, it isn't what you think.
I have read this book and, as a result, totally re-evaluated my relationship with food. Read more
I have read this book and, as a result, totally re-evaluated my relationship with food. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars
exccellant book everyone especially doctors and schools should read
The book is very carefully researched with lots of studies and references cited. It is not for the faint hearted, and can be heavy going to the lay person. Read more
Published 2 months ago by NickyWard-Therapist
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book That Could Change Your Life
A thoroughly well researched book. Every assertion is either backed up with evidence, drawn from history, statistics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, politics... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jim Naylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting theory of "what's going on"... (Or what's making us...
This is a very interesting book and well worth reading because...
The obesity epidemic is due to what we "think" we are eating which is a little different to what we are... Read more
The obesity epidemic is due to what we "think" we are eating which is a little different to what we are... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mark Stipanovsky
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astounding information
This book is amazing, how can so much information be manipulated over the years to lead the world astray about diet.
The American Govt. has caused us all to be fat. Read more
The American Govt. has caused us all to be fat. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ms. P. J. Bosworth
3.0 out of 5 stars
Still confused
I've recently read this book in conjunction with another book called Escape the Diet Trap. Lots of interesting facts in each book, but a few questions need to be answered... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Hugh Jarse
5.0 out of 5 stars
good evidence base
As a nurse working within obesity services, this book has been a massive help for me when trying to explore alternatives to the current high carb low fat advice. Read more
Published 19 months ago by cat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Left me Speechless
Since the government has issued it's healthy eating advice, Obesity has increased 10 fold. Guess we can say that either the advice isn't working or that the advice is utterly... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Satisfied at Last
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book may change your life.
I have a genetic illness not yet fully diagnosed, which includes hypothyroidism and insulin resistance. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Caitlynn
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very important message but strong emotions blinker
The message this book offers - repeatedly - is vital. She backs it with a tremendous amount of research. But the book suffers badly in my view on two counts.
1. Read more
1. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Mr. N. Moffatt
Listmania!
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