Product Details

• Actors: Mary Dimino, Meredith Vieira, Brian Wansink, America Bracho, Rosie Dehli
• Directors: Andrew Fredericks
• Writers: Mary Dimino, Tom Spain
• Producers: Deidre Sheehan, Felice Firestone, Jessica Bari, Linda Spain, Naomi S. Boak
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Spanish, English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: May 15, 2007
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000OCY65Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,857 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Fat - What No One Is Telling You" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most informative, accurate and personally moving account of obesity, December 30, 2007

By 

cosmiquemuffin "not hairy thunderer" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat - What No One Is Telling You (DVD)

I happened upon this movie on PBS when I was on a business trip, and it essentially helped to kick-start my journey into a healthier lifestyle, where I have lost 40lbs already in a 150lb long term goal.

I remember being deeply and personally moved by the stories, but it was also a game-changing flood of information about the latest biological research that did the trick for me. It allowed me to see the issue not in terms of will power and laziness (as is all too common in popular culture as well as years of medical haranguing) but in terms of physical compulsion akin to and even surpassing opiate addiction.

Why was this new information so critical in my current success, where previously I had tried and failed? It is definitely that it shatters the myth that weight loss is as simple as consuming less than you expend, a glib and harmful misstatement of the problem as profound as saying that beating heroin addiction is as simple as going cold turkey. You'd think that learning exactly how hard it is, really, to lose weight would be discouraging, but it was exactly the opposite. After years of people, including my doctor and nutritionist, breezily tossing off advice and plans of action, I finally learned what I was up against. Then I declared war on it.

I strongly recommend this for anyone who is obese or has an obese person in their life. It's a real eye-opener!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Fat-Friendly, July 17, 2007

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fat - What No One Is Telling You (DVD)

Many media discussions of obesity conclude by saying we fat people are stupid if we don't devote all our energy toward losing weight. This documentary was sympathetic to fat people. It said research on how to lose weight and keep it off is scarce. It says there are numerous causes for obesity and there won't be a one-size-fits-all explanation, no pun intended. It even included a woman who seemed to be a part of the fat acceptance movement. She asks, "Why am I fat and healthy, but my thin sister has had three forms of cancer?" This work doesn't beat up on people in the slightest. It does mention early death, fertility problems, and blindness due to diabetes: it's not that the sad stuff doesn't come up.

A conspicuous fact of this film is that it focuses upon VERY FAT people. Interviewees looked more like Big Pun than Jim Belushi. They were 350 pounds plus, rather than just in the high 100s or low 200s. Have you ever seen a plus-size model and thought, "Gee, they're not that fat!"? This work features "real" fat people who are big, big, big. I appreciate that they didn't whitewash a group to whom I belong.

The fat interviewees are diverse in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity. It includes an Arab Muslim family that have accents and bravado like many New York City residents. The last segment includes Latinas speaking in Spanish with English subtitles supplied. Though the work includes men and women, you can tell that women are more of their target audience. The chubby wife of a fat man says, "Fat women face more stigmatization than fat men." I'm a fat man and I agree.

The work focuses on the fat subjects, rather than on narration and experts. In fact, I think it only included maybe three researchers. Too often, women are only given the chance to narrate documentaries covering famous women. Here, Meredith Vieira narrates on a somewhat gender-neutral topic. I'm glad she was invited to participate (though she's thin, by the way).

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overapologetic rather than answering difficult questions., February 24, 2010

By 

Terry (Milwaukee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat - What No One Is Telling You (DVD)

I have seen very many health and food related videos in my role as a director on a food cooperative. I watched this one with the idea it would offer ideas as to better nutrition and the basics as to what we are gaining weight. In my opinion, and blast away, it takes away the individual responsibility in many respects. The "star" is an 18 year old that is over 500 pounds, because he won't exercise and gets fast food and delivery at all hours. So instead of fixing that, the solution is to have gastric bypass surgery. You see his mom deriding him on failing at every diet, and his siblings getting real hot over him not really trying any other options. There is a heavy couple that admit they can't cook, probably won't like the healthier food, and are only used to the drive through. A stand up comediene that works out like a dog and has done very well. And many of the presenters are doctors would specialize in surgery, so forgive my suspicians of conflict of interest. With less than eleven minutes to go, there is finally anything about nutrition, labels, and keeping junk food away from kids. So, apparently there are a lot of factors to obesity, and just diet and exercise may not matter. But our star after surgery, execises and eats less and loses a ton of weight. My thoughts: another shift from responsibility from eating right and exercising to "it's not my fault" (including one person who gained 130 pounds after college because she did neither). I don't care about assigning blame, and genetics are a huge factor, but it really seemed another example of not having the guts to look in the mirror.