The Diet Myth: Why America's Obsessions with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health

by Paul Campos

A provocative exposé of America's self-defeating war on obesity challenges conventional wisdom regarding the cultural, medical, and political meaning of weight, arguing against the myth that falsely equates thinness with health and explaining why dieting is bad for the health, how the media misinform the public, and the link between racial and body-based prejudice. Originally published as The Obesity Myth. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Fat, Nonfiction, Fat Acceptance

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2005

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So have you heard about that new study that says that people who are a little overweight actually live longer than people who are "normal weight"?? Well, what they didn't tell you is that this "new" study is hardly the first one to come to this conclusion; in fact, in this book, which was originally published 9 years ago, Paul Campos delves into the evidence showing that this is actually the result of many different studies.

This book is an expose on the diet industry, and while I was familiar with some of the evidence that Campos presents, he still found new and innovative ways to discuss the information at hand. While some of the chapters, particularly "The Bimbo Culture," seemed to be more like essays that didn't necessarily fit in with the more academic chapters in the rest of the book, I still found it overall to be a great read. As the author is a lawyer, the writing was occasionally quite dense and therefore the book took me longer than normal to get through; however, for the most part the book was packed with information and new insights on what the diet industry is doing to harm us, and how we are better off forgetting diets once and for all.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campos does an excellent job of exposing the flaws in the "scientific" notion that fat is a health risk, and the underlying cultural prejudices that make otherwise rational people cling so rabidly to this idea. The weakest point in the book comes when he claims that the Clinton/ Lewinsky scandal was all about weight issues. While it's interesting to see the role played by the main players' feelings about fat, I think it's overstating the case to say that was the most important thing going on there. However, that's a small flaw in an otherwise very worthwhile read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read and re-read this book. It has some very useful and interesting information challenging the claims of obesity research. My understanding of fitness vs. body size has been forever altered.