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Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics (California Studies in Food and Culture) Hardcover – April 18, 2012

by
Marion Nestle (Author)
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Marion Nestle (Author), Malden Nesheim (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 38 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: California Studies in Food and Culture (Book 33)
  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: University of California Press; F First Edition edition (April 18, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0520262883
  • ISBN-13: 978-0520262881
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAn outstanding book about the humble little calorie
By Craig...E on March 11, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I was prepared to spend most of my time skimming this book for useful information while avoiding the boring parts that often encumber these kinds of texts, but I read this one cover to cover in just a few days. In fact, as I was reading it and nearing the end I tweeted:
"Sad that I'm almost done reading 'Why Calories Count.' It's so good that I don't want it to end. Really." (@weighthacker)

That's because Why Calories Count is the fascinating story of what calories are, how they were discovered, how they're measured (my favorite way: using 'double labeled water' calorimeters), how our bodies use them, why they're important to us, how they affect our weight, and how our society views them. If you're at all interested in the calorie, I don't think you'll find a better book.

What I especially appreciate about Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim's approach is that they don't (ahem) sugar coat anything. When information about certain aspects of calories is unclear, they say that. If there are conflicting points of view on a topic, they raise them. If food companies are employing deceitful practices (they are), they're pointed out. They also explain how the regulations around calories came into being and how politics often plays more of a role than science when it comes to our nutrition labels. It's not as dry as it sounds.

All of the information is put into the context of why we're experiencing record levels of obesity and being overweight, and what we can actually do about it. This isn't a diet book, but it does look at many of the popular diets out there and explains why they work and which one is for you. (Why: You eat fewer calories. Which One: Any one that helps you eat fewer calories.) If you're trying to lose weight or know someone who is, this is a must read.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA truth tale of food and society. Powerful and much needed.
By GskFn on April 15, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Brilliance crackles in the pages of Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim's "Why Calories Count." The authors, who are professors of food science (and Nestle also in sociology) at NYU and Cornell respectively, deliver a plain-English presentation for non-scientists. They unpack what is a calorie in physical terms, and how calories relate to food from different sources - carbohydrate, protein, fat, and alcohol. They survey alternative theories and folk notions about what makes weight loss or weight gain happen. Contrary to "lowfat" and "low-carb" diet advocates and food marketers, Nestle and Nesheim reaffirm, loudly and clearly, a long-held scientific proposition: that calorie balancing, not food composition, overwhelmingly determines weight gain, weight loss, and weight steadiness.

That makes a good book right there. But "Why Calories Count" does a whole lot more. In just a couple-hundred pages of prose that is colorful, reasonable, and easy-to-read, Nestle and Nesheim unfurl a scientific detective story about food and society. They cut through a lot of dieting mythology and food marketers' hype. They expose troubling trends in eating as a matter of public health. And they reveal clear-eyed solutions to better eating that are available to individuals.

Standing on sound science, the book stages a drama about food and society in America against a 125-year historical backdrop. The protagonist is the American food consumer - sometimes overeater and sometimes dieter - who is driven by personal taste, biology, and good intentions at times. The cast of characters includes: food scientists, professional nutritionists, and diet marketers; farmers, agribusiness, and food marketers; restaurants; and food policymakers in federal, state, and local governments.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsTHE book for laypeople
By Dimmer on May 17, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I am not a layman but a cardiologist and my patients often get misinformation from a variety of garbage / misinformed dietary and nutrition popular books. This book is excellent with no grandiose claims but real information about calories and how one can understand them and make sense (or the lack of it) of all the other books out there which are hype with no real content or evidence based data. This is the only book they really need.
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2.0 out of 5 starsCompliation and Review of Other Studies
By Stephanie on June 21, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I had high hopes for this book. I knew it wasn't a "diet" book but more of an overview of what calories are and how that impacts different types of diets. First, if you don't come from a science background, the historical and analytical information about the determination and analysis of the energy values of calories might be educational. If you have a strong science background, it was more a review of a under grad class. The authors did a nice job of review the current trends and research on the subject, but most of their conclusions were that there is no conclusion or the subject is too complex to explain by a single, straightforward explanation. Reading this book didn't add anything to the conclusion that calories count: you must take in less then you use to lose weight. I wish I had checked this out of the library, not bought it.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCuts thru the nonesense
By Stephen Sykes on April 15, 2012
Format: Hardcover
In a world of confusing food claims and conflicting diet recommendations, "Why Calories Count" is a refreshingly dispassionate look at the science of human nutrition. The book is clear, exhaustively researched and has extensive end notes, so the reader can pursue individual topics in more detail, if desired.

The authors effectively argue that most diet claims are flimsily based on untrustworthy research, and that the only thing that counts when it comes to weight control is calorie count. The problem is that hardly anyone knows their caloric needs and can estimate the caloric content of their food. Hence, people are open to exaggerated food claims and crazy diets.

There are several amusing anecdotes, my favorite of which involves experiments demonstrating that people have an intuitive belief that certain "healthy" foods have negative calories. For example, if asked to estimate the number of calories of a bowl of chili with and without a side salad, they estimate that the chili with salad has fewer calories when, in fact, it has more. Even nutritionists guess wrong!

The other topic I appreciated was a clear explanation of why high fructose corn syrup is such a danger. The authors' explanation exposes as deception the oft-televised claim that the body can't tell the difference between HFCS and sugar. I think that after you read this passage, you'll ban sweetened drinks from your home forever.

If I had to quarrel with any aspect of the book it would be the estimates of exercise output, which differ from most contemporary online calculators. I don't know who is correct. I'll just offer that there is a conflict.

For readers interested in fitness, this book pairs nicely with Tom Venuto's "The Body Fat Solution", which puts together a fitness regime consistent with the nutrition principles in this book. They could be sold together.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Overall 9 out of 10

Published 1 month ago by Kevin A.
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

a must for people who want to understand the true science behind the calorie story.

Published 1 month ago by Jacky BE
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Good as my expect.

Published 6 months ago by Andi Imam Arundhana
5.0 out of 5 starsWonderfully dispassionate erudition of the science behind calories

Wonderfully dispassionate erudition of the science behind calories, metabolism and diets. Amongst other things, debunks all diets apart from the gold standard one - reduce your... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Gerard De Ruyter
5.0 out of 5 starsTruly Amazing

This product is perfect for the layman who wants to understand more about the history and current understanding about calories. Read more

Published on June 20, 2013 by Eileen Over
3.0 out of 5 starsLearn How Different Diets Affect the Body

This book is not designed to tell people which diets are good for losing or gaining weight, but rather teach about calories and the "eat more" culture that exists today.

Published on May 8, 2013 by DietsInReview
5.0 out of 5 starsCalories 101

This book gives the reader basic information about calories from food and how and why people gain and lose weight. Read more

Published on May 7, 2013 by Dennis Littrell
1.0 out of 5 starsOut of date information

After reading this I was amazed at what little must be taught in school with someone getting a PHd these days. Read more

Published on April 21, 2013 by Karl
5.0 out of 5 starsWant to understand?

If you can't make head nor tails out of all the gobbledygook shoveled at you by "health experts" with an agenda.
Read this book and it all becomes quite simple. Read more

Published on April 19, 2013 by John Ettorre
4.0 out of 5 starsPretty Technical, But Can Learn A Lot

This book is somewhat technical as far as biochemical and nutrition science for someone who is not familiar with these areas. Read more

Published on March 25, 2013 by CJF

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