Feeding on Dreams: Why America's Diet Industry Doesn't Work & What Will Work for You [Paperback]

Diane Epstein (Author), Kathleen Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

Identifying the flaws in most popular diet and weight-loss programs, a guide to no-nonsense fitness provides practical, intelligent alternatives that are based on foods that most people enjoy. Reprint. PW. K.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1990, according to the authors, the diet industry enjoyed sales greater than those of Eastman Kodak and Xerox combined. That year, dieting Americans spent $33 billion on pills, powders, programs and books. As this book suggests, the advertising strategies employed by weight-loss programs sell hope, implying that if you "follow the rules you will be rewarded with a perfect body and all the perks that come with it. Love. Respect. Sex. Success. Self-Esteem." Epstein, a psychologist in weight-control counseling, and writer Thompson are scathingly critical of the profit-driven weight-loss programs that litter the airwaves and yellow pages. They juxtapose the false promises made by each major program in the diet industry with the actual experiences of customers, showing, in the volume's first half, how and why these programs fail for so many. In the second half of the book, the authors explore the principles of what may work: take control and develop a lasting and healthful relationship with food and your body; make food a pleasure; trust your body. By offering a sane approach to weight loss, they tip the scales back in favor of the client.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

One-third of this book denigrates the diet industry, and the rest tells what the authors believe will work when diets fail. Epstein, a psychologist with experience in weight-control counseling, and Thompson, co-author of Against Rape , admit that much of their book is based on "personal observation" of the diet industry. While claiming to provide a scientific and medical basis for their comments, they give no citations but only a list of books and eating disorder organizations. They quote sources written in the 1970s and 1980s stating that the real problem is not obesity but a high-fat diet, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and alcohol. They then suggest that it is our perception of fat and our unhealthy attitudes toward fat people that cause many people in this country to starve themselves to death. While much of what they say is true, the authors offer a conclusion that goes to the other extreme: eat anything you want; don't worry whether it's healthy or not, just make it low-fat; and exercise and watch your setpoint (not a new theory). Not an essential purchase.
- Loraine F. Sweetland, Rebok Memorial Lib., Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380725215
• ISBN-13: 978-0380725212
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,212,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars yes, but, June 2, 2009

By 

oolala53 (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feeding on Dreams: Why America's Diet Industry Doesn't Work & What Will Work for You (Paperback)

This book's indictment of the diet industry is terrific, as well as the emphasis on finding pursuits in your life that don't involve food. I don't think it's the last book a weight loss wannabe would read, but it's a good one to either start or reinforce doubting the likelihood that jumping in to radical changes will actually lead to permanent weight loss. This doesn't get five stars because its talk of having a "fat budget" doesn't sound that much different than some of the diets being criticized. No matter what, it is worth the read, and every library should have it to counter all the other diet books.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it tell it like is, when its comes to diet clinics, May 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Feeding on Dreams: Why America's Diet Industry Doesn't Work & What Will Work for You (Paperback)

after going throught a hmo program, this book is a foot print what i learnd and everyone needs to have in their book collection, if they need help with thier wieght and health.