The Shape We're In: How Junk Food and Diets are Shortening Our Lives

by Sarah Boseley

This demonization of the overweight by the media and politicians is unrelenting.
Sarah Boseley, the Guardian's award-winning health editor, argues it's time we understood the complex reality of what makes us fat.
Speaking to behavioral scientists and industry experts, yo-yo dieters and people who have gone under the knife, Boseley builds a picture of an obesogenic society - one where we're constantly bombarded by the twin evils of big budget food marketing and the diet industry.
Filled with in-depth, original reporting, Boseley reveals just how widespread the problem is - 1 in 4 of us are obese - and makes the case that it is time to fundamentally change the way we live.
The Shape We're In is essential reading for anyone interested in their health and the health of their children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Health, Science

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2014

Reviews

[Harrison Large ラージ • ハリソン · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sobering look at the food industry and the obesity epidemic that has developed over the last 50 years. Focuses mainly on steps taken up to 2012 due to publication date, as well as possible next steps (some which came to pass like the sugar tax).

It was well written but also very clinical and not necessarily conversational in tone, which a book like this needed to be effective.

I was hoping to learn more about junk food itself as I've lost two stone in six months due to eating better and moving more. There were some useful tips, such as making mealtimes matter as an occasion, but I kind of already had learned this from other sources. Very little advice in the way of overcoming bad habits yourself which someone might have wanted to see.

Overall, a decent book, but not one I would recommend.

[Lou Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not new information but it was written sensitively and made me stop and think. I decided to cut down on sugar for about 3 days and now that the book has worn off, I've gone back to my old ways deciding that the stress of worrying too much about my diet is just as bad for me as the sugar... this is probably not exactly right. I'm hoping to keep a few of my lower sugar intake forward but I'm finding that this life is not easily adaptable for the lower sugar diet (which obviously is exactly what it says in the book!). I'm going to make little changes and not dwell on it. My criticism of the book is that the chapter's are so long. For non-fiction, I like it choppier, it's easier to take in that way.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the subtitle misleading. This isn't really about how junk food and diets are shortening our lives - this is not a book about health. Rather, it is a look at the obesogenic environment created by food companies who have saturated our surroundings with heavily processed foods (every shop, every vending machine, every advert break and billboard) but deny any responsibility for the consequences if we choose to eat their products. Governments cannot afford to compete, and are reluctant to restrict what food companies are allowed to do. It's something of a stalemate, which the book reports on but does not do much to show us a way out.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boseley is right! Compared with the healthy 40 year life average of the industrial worker of less than two centuries ago we have very short lives. And compared with the abundance of items in the industrial worker's huge mansions, now we live in petty empty homes. And clearly it is about junk food that people eat to live shorter not because it tastes good.

[Julie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My weight dropped from 10 st 7 to 10 st 2 while reading this book. It looks at why we are getting so fat and how hard it is for us humans to reject the marketing of snacks. Must stop eating whilst on computer then the brain will register the fact that I've just eaten and won't get so hungry.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful book - a range of interesting topics covered!

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful commentary on the obesity epidemic, written by the Guardian (UK)'s Food Editor, so therefore in the context of that country but the situation equally applies here (if not more so). The author points out that demonising the overweight and obese as gluttonous pigs with no self-restraint is not only not helpful but completely futile in attempting to solve this particular problem. As is the case in most industrialised countries today, we live in an environment where it's almost impossible not to consume more fat, sugar and processed foods than are good for us. They are everywhere, not only where you'd expect them to be, in takeaway food outlets, but lurking in what appear to be relatively innocuous food items. Adding sugar to everything has of course compensated for the loss of taste resulting from taking the fat out of everything, but most of the time we're largely unaware what we're actually eating. Even if you attempt to decipher the composition labels on packaged foods, it ultimately becomes so confusing and misleading, you tend to give up and grab what seems ok, hoping for the best. There are some scary facts and statistics in here about the influence of Big Food, especially on the diets of children and although solutions are contemplated in the last chapter, they are going to be easily come by. When the powerful influence of companies who make huge dollars from selling food that makes us fat continues to prevail, as it does, doing more than acknowledging the problem is unfortunately not likely to happen any time soon.

[Amanda Em · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable when you have some brains and common sense.

The industry is tricking us, the customers, with hidden sugar and chemicals etc and the government does little to nothing about it because as long the money comes in ... : it is a fact an I agree with that.

BUT nobody forces us to buy the products which are on the market. Nobidy forces me to buy junk food, fizzy drinks, sweets etc. The industry WANTS me to buy it, but I am not being FORCED.

When you are unemployed and short on money but have plenty of time on your hands why not preparing cheaper and healthier meals at home instead of buying fast food and sugary drinks?

If you are poor do not buy fast food. It is cheaper to prepare you own meals. it is as simple as that. You do not need the government to tell you that. You jut need some COMMON SENSE. And you just need to use your brain.

It is OUR CHOICE what we buy and what we eat and drink.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first heard about this book on radio 4, Sarah Boseley was discussing attitudes to obesity and it's causes and it sounded interesting, different.

Some parts were interesting and very quotable but there was so much emphasis on the government needing to 'do something' 'won't somebody please think of the children‽' I'm not saying responsibility is entirely on the individual but Boseley did go too far the other way, making everyone seem utterly helpless to the draw of the nearest Greggs.

I did learn a few new things from 'The Shape we're in', it did have some interesting insights but for the most part it just told me things I already knew. Anyone who has read or watched anything about the obesity crisis will read things they already know. It's not a bad book but it's not a revelation.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this book holds nothing back. She managed to make me re-think my position on whether fat people are entirely responsible for their condition or not. However, I do have a friend who has spent years trying to help people learn to cook and learn better nutrition skills with very limited success. It doesn't help either when a woman learns some new skills but her husband refuses to try the resulting food. Sometimes it all felt like a lost cause, but at least I can try my best to make sure my family is eating better and learning the skills they need to maintain a healthier lifestyle once they leave home.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goes into great detail about the practices of food companies, Policies and Government (in) action. Although the general picture and how we came to be in this unhealthy pickle is necessary for the scope of the book, the chapters I really enjoyed were: the one about America (Mississippi / Louisiana) and the Fattest Towns in England. It's definitely looking like an obesity and health issues time bomb.

[Sarri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Valtavaan sanatulvaan oli piilotettu mielenkiintoistakin faktaa ylipainosta ja siihen liittyvistä asioista. Paljon oli brittiläistä tietoa, mikä ei niin kovasti jaksanut kiinnostaa. Kirjoitustyylikään ei ollut kovin koukuttava. Kahlasin tätä kirjaa luvattoman kauan, eikä siitä jäänyt mieleen juuri mitään.

[Gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting book that looks at all aspects of our food choices and the reasons behind the growing waists of the population. It didn't change the way that I eat, but it did make me think about the choices that I make regarding food and why I make them. Well worth a read.

[Kristie Saumure · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't know that there was anything new in this book, journalist Sarah Bosley does remind us of the inequalities associated with obesity and just how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy bodyweight in an obesogenic environment.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally interesting essay on obesity but the information is well known and the 'solutions' are just a re-working of others' views.

[Sian Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book although it did seem to be a repackaging of and repeat quite a lot if information from the BBC series 'The men who made us fat'. I still found it interesting reading.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary. Gives a thorough account of the current situation regarding the obesity epidemic and offers some realistic solutions.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

All very true but is not an easy read.