Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease Paperback – Illustrated, December 31, 2013

As a practicing physician, I have had a strong interest in obesity for many years, so I work hard to keep up with the latest research on the topic. I was really looking forward to reading "Fat Chance" and I wasn't disappointed. In my opinion Dr. Lustig has set a new standard when it comes to understanding an extremely complex disorder that is ravaging the health of people around the world. Despite my long-standing interest in the field of obesity, I also learned a great deal by reading this excellent book. I recommend that you buy two copies of the book--one for yourself and one for your physician!The physiology of energy metabolism and fat storage is extremely complex and Dr. Lustig does a great job of walking us through the complex interactions between the hormones that regulate our metabolism and fat storage. He explains how our hormones drive our behaviors, how processed food can become addictive when it stimulates the pleasure centers in our brain and the role of stress in promoting insulin resistance and fat storage.As he walks us through the science, he hits the most critical points in understanding just why we get obese. These points include:1. A calorie is not a calorie. Gary Taubes was one of the first people to promote this important idea and Dr. Lustig describes the concept in a way that is easy for just about anyone to understand. It's not how much you eat but rather what you eat that really counts when it comes to your metabolic health.2. The difference between being fat and sick. This is an absolutely critical point that even most physicians don't understand. He drives home the important point that 20% of obese people are metabolically healthy and up to 40% of people with a normal BMI are metabolically compromised. In other words there is really no such thing as a "weight" problem.3. The fact that excessive fructose is a chronic toxin. This includes sucrose and HFCS that are now added to most processed foods. Like cigarette smoking, consuming large amounts of sugar won't kill you today but sooner or later the wheels will suddenly fall off, leading you down a road of chronic disease, disability and premature death.4. The true role of exercise when it comes to health. He points out that exercise is a lousy weight loss tool but a great way to counter metabolic problems. Exercise to boost your mitochondria, not to lose weight.5. The role of obesogens. Dr. Lustig points out that many chemicals we come into contact with every day are capable of promoting fat storage. This idea may make you a little paranoid, but that may be a good idea.6. The role of fiber. Dr. Lustig does a great job of pointing out the critical role that soluble and insoluble fiber play in metabolism and obesity. This topic is often overlooked in discussions about obesity and he makes the case that fiber is absolutely critical when it comes to promoting metabolic health.Once he has thoroughly covered the physiology of obesity, he moves on to the critical "what to do about it" question. In my opinion this is the most critical part of the book. He makes the case that it is important to change your own food environment if you want to be metabolically healthy and he then goes on to promote the idea that for most people this won't be enough--we need to change our entire food system if we want to have any hope of overcoming our massive epidemic of metabolic problems and obesity. In other words we have a huge public health crisis on our hands and we can't solve public health problems by only acting as individuals. We also need a top down approach if we hope to avoid an international health disaster and I agree with his perspective.We need to change the way our government subsidizes food, we need to tax and restrict the dietary components like added sugars that are killing us or making us sick and we need to educate our population about the true dangers of eating processed foods.Dr. Lustig certainly has grabbed the bull by the horns when it comes to our national health. Those of us who have spent decades in the trenches seeing the consequences of our toxic diet in our patients know deep down inside that he is absolutely right. Trying to change the behavior of individual patients is a lost cause when they are living in a toxic environment. Yes, it is a big challenge, but in my opinion the cost of doing nothing is so great that we cannot afford to ignore his call to action.I highly recommend this book and I recommend that you buy copies for your physician and friends. There's no such thing as too much good information.

Where to being, first, I didn't buy this book because I am obese. I purchased this book because I wanted to understand obesity and more importantly, I wanted to understand metabolic syndrome. Just because you are "skinny" doesn't mean your healthy. I have always felt this way, and this book helps to reinforce that with science. I know that I don't eat the healthiest foods. I tend to eat a lot of processed high sugar foods and I wanted to change my lifestyle. I am fairly skinny but now realize that I am probably not that metabolically healthy (or rather I could be doing a much better job). This book has really inspired me to change my lifestyle. I am not looking to lose weight at all but be more metabolically healthy.Here is what I lover about this book:-Everything is backed up by science. Don't believe the author, fine, look up the studies yourself. This isn't something that is made up or someones opinion. You can look up these studies yourself to verify the book. The nice thing about this book is all of these data is compiled for you in a nice neat package.-The book is realistic in many ways. The author doesn't say "change your life style and your problems will be fixed". Rather, the author gives a whole list of causes of metabolic syndrome and explains different solutions for different people. The author even explains that it simply could be your genetics or in some cases a side effect from another treatment ( for example, from cancer treatments) and that you will need other measures to deal with metabolic syndrome. Such as drugs because there are no other options. However, the author does a fantastic job explaining that this isn't the majority of cases. The majority of cases can be fixed by changing your lifestyle.-Ever wonder why many diets conflict with each other but seems to work with different populations? For example, in Asia the main diet is rice and vegetables and yet the seem to age very nicely and are usually pretty thin. Yes this could be genetics but I have this suspicion diet plays a very important role. On the flip side we also have seen great results with some low carb diets with high protein, very low carbs, almost the opposite of the "Asian" diet. How could this be? This book explains.-Exercise alone won't solve your problems. I love how this is explained in the book. You can exercise all you want but if you don't follow a health diet it doesn't mean you will be super healthy. Yes exercise is really important but not for losing weight. this is explained really well in the book. For example, I have been to the gym where I have seen "heavy" people. These are people that are on the "heavier" side yet look really healthy and really fit. I have seen this with women where they are "heavy" but look fantastic because they are exercising properly and eating a healthier diet. They just tend to be genetically "heavier". On the flip side, I have seen super skinny people that look "sickly" thin because they don't exercise and have a poor diet. This is explained very well in the book and has confirmed a lot of what I already suspected.Okay, on to the cons. Not too much here but if you aren't into science and pathways you might find the book a bit boring. The author goes into great detail about the metabolic process and how it works. Some people may find this very boring.Currently I am 70% of the way though. I normally don't write reviews. I also usually wait until I am all the way done with the product. However, I am really enjoying this book and feel that it is done really well. So, I wanted to share my experiences with you. If things change after I finish the book I will be sure to update the review.

El autor escribe de manera jocosa pero es súper técnico y un conocedor muy especializado del tema.Este libro te cambia todo el concepto de los obesos y de la adicción a la comida. También te cambia el concepto de nutrición por completo

The most thorough and easy to understand book on food, additives and obesity i have ever read. A came away with a very clear understanding of the different processes that happen in our bodies when we eat sugars. I bought the Kindle version and then bought the paperback so I could go through it a second time and take notes. Really well done. thank you

This is a mind changing book. Every page is information full and worth of your attention. Sugar is toxic as alcohol or opioids. Only slower.

Makes you reassess what you "think" you know about food and realise how much you don't know.

Un libro de lectura obligatoria, una señal de alarma enorme. Un libro que te abre los ojos y la mente y te ayudará dar el primer paso para concienciarte sobre la necesidad de hacer un cambio en tu vida y eliminar algo que nos está matando poco a poco con el visto bueno de todos. Muy muy recomendable