"Why we Get Fat and What to do About it" By Gary Taubes (book review)

I have just finished reading “Why we Get Fat and What to do about it” by award-winning scientist, Gary Taubes.

Nowadays, many people are disillusioned with advice recommended by GPs to “eat less, move more” in order to lose weight and stay lean. But does it always work? Taubes, however, has a completely different approach to how people become obese, and its cause. He is not alone in his views, albeit at odds with those of the orthodox medical community. And his arguments suggest undereating and exercising may not be the answer to losing weight, to the dismay of medical doctors.

Taubes critiques the “eat less, move more” philosophy, and argues very fairly, with lots of evidence to back up his assumptions using tests from scientists and diet gurus across the world. He also discusses if being obese is a genetic disorder, why undereating only works for a few months, and the truth behind the success of dieting the way Weightwatchers® and other advertising brands promote it.

Taubes’ main argument is about the role hormone insulin plays in making people obese. He explains the cause of it and benefits of different food groups very clearly. Following Robert Atkins’ footsteps, Taubes offers us a more informative and cultivated approach to Atkins’ radical assumptions back in 1972.

Personally, I think what Taubes says in a hundred pages, could have been summed up in fifty. His argument is quite simple, but Taubes has a tendency to go on a bit. However, this was a very appealing and beneficial read that I would recommend to almost everyone. Its use of language and the way it is set out would probably make it one of the best non-fiction books I have read yet.

A Painting in the Wild

This is a painting on a canvas I did earlier and I found my inspiration from the photo below.

This photo was taken a few days ago when it was snowing slightly, it is the view from my bedroom window and I hope you like my painting!

English Project-Informative Peice

How people get fat-Informative piece

I have recently taken an interest in the reason why people get fat. It always seemed to amaze me why some thin people eat to their heart's desire but do not put on weight, but some overweight people ate hardly anything yet remained overweight.

Why?

“Less food and more exercise” is apparently the way to lose weight today, as it was discovered back in 1990 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) when they thought the answer to becoming grossly obese was “sedentary behaviour and overeating.” Is this the real reason?

People are more determined to lose weight nowadays then before. In the 1980s a size 10/12 was a healthy size for many women, however, that has drastically changed over the years and a size 0/6 is considered a lot more attractive and desirable.  So people try diets, which we see advertised on TV almost all the time, such as Jenny Craig and Weightwatchers. But along with the statistics and positive reviews about these diet plans, they only work in the short term and many people end up putting their weight back on after a short period of time.

But another way that many people think helps to “lose weight” is by under eating, or eating very small portions of food. However, tests show that this type of diet only works for a few months or so, and makes you malnourished, which mean it’s not the healthiest of ways to lose weight.  Scientist Gary Taubes also mentions this in his book “Why we Get Fat and what to do about it”

However, you might be thinking exercise is the key to losing weight fast and effectively? Exercise, lose weight, prevent disease-is it all true? Well, research shows that vigorous exercise for ninety minutes a day-an hour and a half each day-will help you not to put on weight, but is not guaranteed to help you lose weight, and will probably leave you panting with exertion all day.

Paul Williams, an author of statistics at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley (California) and Peter Wood, a Stanford university researcher who has been studying the effect of exercise on health since the 1970s. Teamed up and collected information on the health, weight gain, and weight loss, on approximately thirteen thousand habitual runners. The tests and statistics showed that every year the runners tended to get fatter and put on more weight, even those who ran more than forty miles a week-eight miles a day, five days a week! William and Wood came to a conclusion, that if male runners ran two more miles than their average distance each week, females three, then perhaps they could stay lean. This is because you are burning more calories each time you run the extra two miles a week. So why is it when people exercise they tend to put on more weight? It may be because people become hungrier when they are active, so need something quick and efficient to eat...carbohydrates, e.g. bread, pasta e.t.c

Dr Atkins (a controversial American Physician) made his first appearance in the New York Times. In 1972 Atkins suggested that eating fat would not make you fat, and 'it was all a big fat lie!' According to Atkins, saturated fat on the meat and dairy products are not the heart of the problem. But, eating to your heart’s desire with foods such as meat and steak, and stuffing your face with eggs and butter, might be a possible solution. Atkins argued for a view which was against the current orthodoxy.  

But in order to learn how we must lose weight, shouldn't we know how the body regulates fat? Hormones and Enzymes control our growth and development, so which hormone is responsible for regulating our fat tissue? It is a hormone called Insulin. However, simple, refined and easily digestible carbohydrates are responsible for raising the insulin level, to an extent that is not healthy, and can lead to type 2 diabetes. It is at this point at which a person is very likely to become obese.

People may believe exercise burns off fat and other processed foods in your body. But it will only burn off the sugar or food you have had beforehand. For instance, if you have been devouring carbs all day, you’ll burn the carbs off instead of the fat. Consequently, if you constantly do this, your body’s ability to metabolise fat will atrophy.

Dr. Atkins and Gary Taubes (a writer who has written a number of books on the reason why people get fat) have a very fair point. Following Atkins, Gary Taubes offers us a more explanatory, seasoned approach and argues vehemently to get his voice across about the low carb, high protein diet (that will probably be more very beneficial to us). But, this matter is still yet to be acknowledged by the modern medical community.