16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Matty04 doesn't know what he's talking about, November 27, 2007
As to the assertion that body image is cyclical, I'd be interested in seeing when it has ever moved through the emaciated and returned to the obese. Contrary to matty04's assertion, it never has. Ever since the industrial revolution, when humans stopped living in agrarian societies, the social pressure for women to be unhealthily thin has always prevailed.
The assertion that huge proportions of Americans are overweight and obese is also misleading. When insurance companies, rather that medical practitioners, decide upon the definition of obesity, they will choose the most extreme possible definition for the purpose of charging higher premiums and denying more claims. That's simply how insurance works. They are in business to make money, not to care for anybody's health, and certainly not to provide any unbiased standards by which health can be quantitatively measured. Every cent of premiums collected that they have to pay out in claims is a "loss" to them. Hence, matty's just quoting insurance misinformation instead of examining the underlying financial motives for ratcheting the concept of "healthy weight" downward.
As to the claim that being overweight puts one at greater risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer, I'd like to point out that a recent study revealed that those who live longest are those with BMIs in the 25-29 range, which is considered overweight. They live longer than those with BMIs of 18-24, considered "normal weight", and longer than those with BMIs of 30 or higher, considered "obese."
As to the assertion that the author is an "old, bitter, fat women [sic]," I'd like to respond that the assessment is coming from some young, sexually frustrated, skinny, pimply teenaged misogynist nerd who doesn't have a chance of having a meaningful relationship with a woman in his lifetime, and so, has no other option but to resort to an ad hominem attack upon a learned scholar whose achievements he has no possible hope of ever approaching. Get yourself some therapy, matty04, and leave the literary analysis to those of us who can demonstrate some actual reading comprehension.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding. Well researched, well written., June 10, 1997
By A Customer
This is an exceptional book; I am dismayed to learn that it is out of print! A must-read for anyone, male or female, who has spent a significant part of their life on a diet. Dr. Seid's research is abundant and thorough. She takes the reader along the historical path that leads to our diet-obsessed modern world, painting a fascinating sociological portrait of how our cultural beliefs came about. Did you know that, adjusted for increased height, average weights haven't changed since the turn of the century? And yet, 100 years ago, 10 percent of women thought they were too heavy, and now 90 percent think so! As food for thought, this is a most nourishing book
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for anyone who has a "weight problem", March 19, 1998
By A Customer
In the era of "The Fat of the Land" and Fen-Phen, this book deserves a wider readership. The author convincingly shows that the supposed "obesity epidemic" of modern times has to do more with changing standards than with reality. And her analysis of the "scientific" basis of the Met Life weight tables is an eye-opener and deserves to be better known. This book is a great antidote for the ever-increasing plague of diet books, and I hope to see it back in print soon.
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