Why We Get Fat: And What to Do about It

An eye-opening, myth-shattering examination of what makes us fat, from acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes.

In his New York Times best seller, Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes argued that our diet's overemphasis on certain kinds of carbohydrates-not fats and not simply excess calories—has led directly to the obesity epidemic we face today. The result of thorough research, keen insight, and unassailable common sense, Good Calories, Bad Calories immediately stirred controversy and acclaim among academics, journalists, and writers alike. Michael Pollan heralded it as a vitally important book, destined to change the way we think about food.

Building upon this critical work in Good Calories, Bad Calories and presenting fresh evidence for his claim, Taubes now revisits the urgent question of what's making us fat-and how we can change—in this exciting new book. Persuasive, straightforward, and practical, Why We Get Fat makes Taubes's crucial argument newly accessible to a wider audience.

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century, none more damaging or misguided than the calories-in, calories-out model of why we get fat, and the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulin's regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid?

Packed with essential information and concluding with an easy-to-follow diet, Why We Get Fat is an invaluable key in our understanding of an international epidemic and a guide to what each of us can do about it.

From the Hardcover edition.

An award-winning science journalist reveals the role of certain carbohydrates in today's obesity epidemic while denouncing calorie-based nutritional practices, in a report that includes coverage of such topics as genetics, the politics behind nutritional guidelines and foods to eat and avoid.

An eye-opening, paradigm-shattering examination of what makes us fat.

In the New York Times best seller Good Calories, Bad Calories, acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes argues that certain kinds of carbohydrates--not fats and not simply excess calories--have led to our current obesity epidemic. Now he brings that message to a wider, nonscientific audience in this exciting new book. Persuasively argued, straightforward, practical, and with fresh evidence for Taubes's claim, Why We Get Fat makes his critical argument newly accessible.

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century--none more damaging than the calories-in, calories-out model of why we get fat--and the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulin's regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers key questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat or avoid?

Concluding with an easy-to-follow diet, Why We Get Fat is an invaluable key to understanding an international epidemic and a guide to improving our own health.

From the Hardcover edition.

\Gary Taubes is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine, and his writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and Esquire. His work has been included in The Best of the Best American Science Writing (2010), and has received three Science in Society Journalism Awards from the National Association of Science Writers, the only print journalist so recognized. He is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator in Health Policy Research at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. He lives in Berkeley.

The original sin — Biology, not Physics — Why were they fat? — The elusive benefits of undereating — The elusive benefits of exercise — The significance of twenty calories a day — Why me? Why there? Why then? — Thermodynamics for dummies, part 1 — Thermodynamics for dummies, part 2 — Head cases — Adiposity 101 — The laws of adiposity — A historical digression on "lipophilia" — A primer on the regulation of fat — Why I get fat and you don't (or vice versa) — What we can do — Injustice collecting — Why diets succeed and fail — A historical digression on the fattening carbohydrate — Meat or plants? — The nature of a healthy diet — Following through.