5 Responses

1. Jorge Lallemand

   2010 Jul 25 1

   More and more self-indulgence. Blame it on everybody else but people themselves. C’mon, stop the insanity. The issue here is not a person that is 20 pounds overweight. It is more like 100+ pounds overweigth!

   Only when people accept that they can control their mouth and impulses, then they will start living healthier lives.Well, the truth of the matter is, weight=calories+no excercise.

   And don’t blame it on the genes either. You want to be fat, that is fine. Nowhere else in the world one finds as many morbidly obese people as in the US. Go overseas and you will see!
   Rating: 1 / 5

2. Michelle Kreidler

   2010 Jul 25 2

   The Obesity Myth is written by law professor Paul Campos. Some of his ideas are worthy of consideration. I agree it is important to discuss the fact that sedentary thin people are less healthy than overweight active individuals. Also, his criticism of the current Body Mass Index is also an important point. It is interesting to learn that according to the current BMI both Brad Pitt and Schwartzenegger are overweight! But after that, Compos begins to lose credibility. Let’s look at information about the NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES (source CDC):

   “Factors that significantly increase risk for cardiovascular disease, including sedentary lifestyle, obesity, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking.”

   They do not claim that obesity CAUSES heart disease but it does increase your risk. So why would Campos not encourage all of us to reduce our risk? Would he encourage us to smoke? Would he tell us to stop being active? Of course not! So I question why he would emphasize so deeply that weight loss is nearly impossible to achieve and so very dangerous. I just don’t buy his arguments. I think this book will give unhealthy American’s one more excuse to remain unhealthy and obese.
   Rating: 2 / 5

3. Shalom Freedman

   2010 Jul 25 3

   This is a pioneering work which marshals much fact and argument to counter the ‘ myth of obesity’ and its negative impact on our health. It is especially good in its description of the whole industry built around this subject.
   
   Nonetheless it is exaggerated and misleading also.
   
   The fact of the matter is obesity is a definite health danger. It does make serious inroads in our quality of life. Take a look some time at those who live with their minds intact into their nineties. Almost all of them are thin.
   
   Personally like most skinny kids I some time in my life discovered myself to be bothered by my heaviness. Not the aesthetic question primarily which bothers so many others. But the greater difficulty in moving, the more frequent aches.
   
   Obesity is indicated in arthritis, in diabetes as well as in the heart- disease- stroke area.
   
   It may be of greater damage to go up a hundred pounds and down a hundred pounds. But if you are thirty or forty pounds overweight losing ten or fifteen will make you feel a lot better. It will also make your numbers a lot better at the doctor.
   
   The truth is it is hard for many of us after a certain age to maintain a reasonable weight. Exercise, fruits and vegetables , avoiding the most fattening of foods , a moderate reasonable regimen is recommended.
   
   Being fat is bad, being very fat is very bad for your health.
   
   This may not be the number one problem in the universe, but it is a real one in America.
   
   One more point. Rip-off artists, and making a buck out of other people’s problems are part of the game. So is showing up the phonys in the business. For showing up the phonys this book is to be commended.
   
   For minimizing a real problem and for exaggerating it too should be criticized a bit.
   
   Rating: 4 / 5

4. Donnie Conner

   2010 Jul 25 4

   Saw this author interviewed on CNN this evening. His arrogance outweighs (no pun intended) anything that could be contained in this book. A complete turnoff. What has happened to civil discourse? Is everything just about being provactive just to sell a product?
   Rating: 1 / 5

5. dean_from_sa

   2010 Jul 25 5

   That a narrowly defined weight to height ratio is insufficient to predict a shorter life span is the central premise of this book. Campos makes a logical argument that the danger of carrying weight outside of the “BMI band” has been overstated and distorted by authorities. He insinuates that it may be because of researchers with vested interests handling most of the continuing examination of the relationship between weight and health. The research that Campos favors states that the relative level of fitness and activity can best predict future health. This is handled in 54 pages. The book is 250 pages long. What fills the balance of the book is an examination of American culture. I did not find that Campos’ observations about society rose above anecdotal and trivial.

   There is an annoying sub-current in the book and it seems to emanate from the author’s political biases. Repeated mention of a “lack of national health care”, bias in the rendering of healthcare to the poor, and other liberal palaver. Nowhere can he cite a country that has socialized their healthcare system leading to a reduced mortality rate. Perhaps the author should check his socialist leanings at the door when trying to make an unrelated point. I deducted a star for the superfluous material and moralistic grandstanding.
   Rating: 4 / 5