A Christian looks at the science of fat

The September /October issue of Books and Culture has a review by Elissa Elliot of various anti-anti-fat books and articles, by Paul Campos, The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health (Gotham Books, 2004), Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, "Modern Science versus the Stigma of Obesity," Nature Medicine 10 (June 1, 2004): 563-69 and Dr. Katherine M. Flegal, "Trends in Body Weight and Overweight in the U. S. Population," Nutrition Reviews 54 (April 1996): S97-S100.

Not thoroughly convinced by her own research, she concludes: “Granting that Campos, Friedman, and other mavericks are right about the genetic basis for obesity, there are still many questions to answer. Why are there more poor fat people than rich fat people? Why is there an alarming increase in child obesity? Why are corporations signing multimillion dollar contracts with schools to put their fatty foods in kids' sweaty hands? (For a scathing account of how we've lost control of our eating habits, read Greg Critser's book, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World.) We are, without question, an eating-disordered culture, quite apart from genetic predispositions.”