Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

This is a very interesting and well written book. Don't be confused into thinking this is a diet book full of recipes and detailed meal plans. This is for those who actually want to understand the reasons behind why some people get fat, and why others don't. Once you understand it, you should be far better equipped to decide for yourself what to eat and what not to eat. The basic message of the book, and this is stated within the first few pages, so I don't think I'm giving too much away here, is this: Carbohydrates, especially those refined carbohydrates and starchy foods which have entered into the human diet only very recently in evolutionary terms, are the primary causes for why we get fat, and increase our risks of getting modern western diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. This view, as the author makes very clear, is contrary to the current views on nutrition held by most health authorities worldwide, who advocate diets high in carbohydrate and low in fat, and who believe that the best way to lose weight and reduce risk of western diseases is to reduce one's calorie intake and increase one's calorie expenditure via exercise. At least half of the book is dedicated to presenting a series of arguments to support the author's view and debunk the views of health authorities. What is perhaps most profound about this book, is that the arguments the author makes, which I personally find very convincing, are not plucked out of thin air, they are based on uncontroversial science that already exists, and large scale scientific studies. The author explains in some detail the established science behind how carbohydrates affect levels of insulin in our bodies and the knock on effects this has. Also, rather than just cherry picking the studies which support his views, the author also addresses studies which do not, and explains why he believes they do not. This unbiased approach, I believe, adds credibility to his arguments. I personally find it hard to dispute the conclusions drawn by the author - his arguments are based in scientific fact, and are both simple and logical. But read it for yourself - he's not forcing you into believing him, he presents his arguments and you are free to draw your own conclusions. Overall I found this book not just an informative book about the science of how and why we get fat, but an incredibly eye opening and thought provoking account of how the so called experts and authorities on nutrition have gotten it so wrong. I would definitely recommend others to read this book - not just people trying to lose weight, but also those who are interested in the history and evolution of science, and especially anyone in the field of health and nutrition who doesn't mind having their established beliefs challenged.

If you are like me, you like to read a cross-section of reviews. Positive reviews, after all, rarely say anything about the negatives of a product. The negatives about this book will often say "Oh, this is just Atkins rehashed". It isn't. This isn't a diet book; it's a book about nutritional science. The negatives will also tell you that Taubes has been debunked; he hasn't been. One or two cite the China Study, a promotion of vegetarian / vegan diet that has been debunked as bad science. Many will tell you "there are no long term studies..." And some will tell you that this is rubbish because X diet (usually the "balanced" diet) is obviously the healthy one, so anything that contradicts that must be bunk. This is not a diet book; it's a book about nutritional science. Despite the advances in scientific method over the last century, nutritional science is still in its infancy. There are very few long term studies of any sort of diet. Such studies need decades before they can make any justifiable conclusions. As Taubes suggests, many studies seem to focus on one particular aspect of diet, apparently without taking into account how that aspect can be affected by other factors in diet or general environment. Finally, scientists are just as prone to narrow-mindedness as anyone else, despite their supposed rationality. No-one likes finding out that everything they've learnt, believed in, and have built their professional lives around is, in fact, bunk. Einstein was ridiculed in some quarters when he proposed his theories of Relativity. It turns out he was right (mostly). Taubes is not a scientist. He's a science journalist. That doesn't make him more or less qualified to lay down dietary law. He undoubtedly has his beliefs - they're here in this book. Is he right, is he wrong? There are many opinions about nutrition, but this is a book well worth reading. Taubes makes many interesting points in it. The main one is that, given that agriculture was invented only an evolutionary eye-blink ago, we could not have evolved eating the "balanced" diet of largely grain-based carbs that has only held sway since the 60's. Will it change the way you eat? Perhaps. There are many positive reviews that will tell you how great people feel having changed their habits. They out-weigh the negatives. What it should do is make you THINK. Some of the more intelligent negatives point out that there are many facts inconvenient to Taubes' view that he leaves out. This is also true. But he does present a lot of information worth thinking about. In the end, it comes down to do your own research, make up your own mind. This book offers you a lot of information; well presented, easily understandable; that is well outside of the standard, anodyne, saccharine nutritional advice that you normally are offered. Read this with an open mind, investigate, experiment, draw your own conclusions. But don't dismiss this. It IS worth your time & money.

As a professional in the health and fitness industry I enjoy reading these books like fiction, but I like looking for those books which anyone can enjoy and understand! And this is one of them... Gary Taubes puts forward his message in a practiced, concise and enlightening way. He focuses his message on refined/ starchy carbohydrates elevating insulin levels and keeping you fat or making you fatter. He has built and constructed his argument well and sheds a lot of light on; * The flaw in science behind calories in Vs calories out, and how the real results are in the management of insulin. * How the foods we have been told are healthy (refined/ starchy carbohydrates) are actually detrimental to our health. How this used to be common wisdom up to the 1960's (and the dietary fat causes heart disease hypothesis) * How we have been misguided by poor science and (Un)healthy campaigns and how this has contributed to a obesity epidemic. * Then finally how to put into practice a lifestyle free of refined/ starchy carbohydrates. This book is great for making it easy to understand the effect of refined/ starchy carbohydrates on insulin and the effect insulin has on our weight. It also provides a detailed account on the history of dietary advice and how it hasn't always been in our best interest. If you have found this review helpful please check out [...] for further reviews.

This book has totally changed my view of food and what to eat. It is well written, concise, informative and supports its conclusions with detailed reference sources. Certainly the best book on food and weight control I have ever read. I am over 60 years of age and have tried other weight control regimes with success, however at the expense of feeling hungry most of the time and having to eat things that I don't really like. I now really understand the physiology of all this and realize that it is not simply a matter of calories in and calories out. This has been quite a revelation and has assisted me in focusing on the key elements of weight control. I am presently reading his other book "good calories, bad calories" which is much more detailed and harder to read. If you want the quick and dirty read "Why we get fat" as is summarizes everything one needs to know in an easy to read and factual manner. I now eat what I like, am not hungry, feel great and am able to easily keep my weight where I want it to be. Highly recommended.

Excellent read, very informative, get a copy.

This book is essentially a shorter and more focused version (layman edition) of “Good Calories, Bad Calories”, which is exhaustive in documenting the research and politics related to obesity, fat in the diet and cholesterol, and how the health establishment consistently has ignored the research in favor of their own preconceived pet theories. This has led to decades of official health organizations giving wrong health and diet advice to the public. “Why we get Fat” presents the argument-supported both by examples and research-that obesity is mainly a function of an imbalance in how calories are used in the body, with the idea that fat people have a strong tendency to automatically direct calories into stored fat, while correspondingly depriving the body of usable energy. Thus fat people are hungry and tired because the bulk of their calories are going into useless fat storage, and not to support the active body. While the individual gets progressively fatter, the body is starved of energy, hungry and tired. To counter this Taubes recommends a meat/fish heavy diet, while eliminating sources of carbohydrates and sugars. Taubes cites many examples of successful weight loss on this diet. It was even common knowledge for centuries until the 1970s, when the establishment bought into the fat phobia theory. Taubes also talks in detail about cholesterol and triglycerides. Whether you agree or not, Taubes stands conventional dietary recommendations on their head. In any case the book is detailed and makes many good arguments. The first half of the book goes more slowly as Taubes lays out the groundwork for his ideas. The second half is better at summarizing his arguments, and providing advice.

I was 80 kg in 2007, but November 2012 I was 95 Kg. I read the “Why we get fat and what to do about it” book and followed the diet very strictly. The first month I lost 7 Kg and the month after 3 Kg with no hunger at all. The following months I lost around 1.2 Kg per month. Now I am 76 Kg :-) The book is fascinating, full of intellectual reasoning and contains the pure truth about why we get fat and what to do about It. A must for all who wants to lose fat. The author is the number one. Thanks Gary Taubes!

Inusitado, instigante e com humor. Agora também em versão traduzida para o português. Uma das melhores publicações sobre o tema.