Subtitled The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic, Oliver methodically and convincingly argues that the biggest issue with obesity is the panic rather than any health problems directly associated with being fat. As he states int he introduction, this is not the book he intended to write - a political scientist doing post-doctoral work, Oliver decided to investigate political aspects of the obesity 'epidemic' and discovered very little research had been done. The deeper he dug the more convinced he became that the science underpinning predictions and projections about weight and illness was (often profoundly) flawed, and almost always conducted by investigators with undeclared interests - ties to pharmaceutical and weight-loss companies, health care providers who will get reimbursement if being fat is officially deemed an illness, and scaremongers eager to increase the federally funded pie available if this is seen as a crisis.
Oliver also examines the American Protestant loathing of obesity that he believes lies at the heart of some of the researchers' convictions - a topic more thoroughly covered in Marilyn Wann's Fat! So? where she relates stories of women whose physicians were so focused on weight they ignored real medical issues.
Like many other anti-diet/size-acceptance campaigners, Oliver argues that the real culprit is poor diet, incessant snacking, and too little exercise, and that health care prevention programs would be better aimed at improving nutrition and encouraging exercise as ends in themselves rather than as means to reduce weight. That this sensible advice, offered by many before him, receives so little prominence is in itself an argument that the hysteria over obesity is run by something other than genuine concern.
Whether or now weight is a personal issue for you, all of us in the Western world are affected by the money pumped into funding for anti-obesity drugs, weight-loss programs supported by federal money (in Australia gym membership and weight-loss programs may be eligible for health insurance co-payment, 30% of which comes from the Federal government), and an atmosphere that encourages vituperation and prejudice based on size. The funding comes from taxes we all pay, and if it would be better used diverted elsewhere, this affects the thin as much as the fat it's aimed at. - Alex
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