BOOK REVIEWS: Rethinking Thin
Reviewed by Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, M.Ed
Reprinted from Eating Disorders Recovery Today
Fall 2007 Volume 5, Number 4
©2007 Gürze Books
Rethinking Thin
The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting
by Gina Kolata, © 2007, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 272 pages, $24.00
Because the general public is sadly uneducated about the complex biology of weight and eating, Gina Kolata's new book, Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting is a welcome addition to the so-called obesity literature. Kolata, a multi-book author and New York Times science writer, has written a highly-readable page turner by alternating riveting cases taken from a weight loss study with the history of and latest research on the subject.
The book begins with a lively description of dieting in this country, providing a detailed history as well as a larger picture of how American culture has become increasingly fat phobic and thin obsessed. Discussion covers both body image and health concerns, including the fashion industry's role in shaping our opinions about our bodies and the medical community and media's ongoing, often misdirected, war on fat. Kolata makes the research read like a good mystery, as she takes us on a follow-the-clues journey through the scientific theorizing and investigation that has been done on obesity. We keep hoping that each scientific team will find the "cure" and empathize with their intense emotions as they either make startling discoveries about appetite or endure the disappointment of unproven assumptions.
Most compelling are the cases interspersed throughout the book, taken from a University of Pennsylvania study comparing the Atkins diet with a low-calorie one. We're there at the outset when participant and researcher hopes are high, we roller coaster along with them as six months turn into one year, then two, and share their mixed feelings when the study comes to an end.
A word of caution. Many of the research outcomes are validating but won't be classified as "feel good." I felt vindicated by a 1990 New England Journal of Medicine twin study which found that "70 percent of the variation in people's weights may be accounted for by inheritance," laying to rest the simplistic notion that overweight people just need to try harder to be thin. This same compelling statistic, however, made me question my work as a psychotherapist, educator and author, specifically how much I can help people overcome eating problems and sustain weights that are both healthy and practical.
With both a personal and professional interest in the outcome of the research described in this book, I found myself crying more than once at the anguish, despair, longing, and self blame of the study participants. I felt the pain of their struggles and the thump as they hit acceptance of reality. Rethinking Thin does not make for pleasant reading, but it is a necessary eye opener. Also, this book will not be of tremendous interest to undereaters, but it is a must read for overeaters who are trying to reach their eating goals. Although the book raises more questions about eating and weight than it answers, its power is in helping us separate myth from reality and keeping us focused on the truth that is generated by scientific discovery.
