book review
The Shape We’re In: how junk food and diets are shortening our lives by Sarah Boseley Guardian Faber Publishing (26 Jun. 2014) ISBN-13: 978-1783350384 Amazon: Paperback; £10.55; Kindle £4.79 Review by Ursula Arens Writer; Nutrition & Dietetics
Ursula has spent most of her career in industry as a company nutritionist for a food retailer and a pharmaceutical company. She was also a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation for seven years. Ursula helps guide the NHD features agenda as well as contributing features and reviews.
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‘Being fat is your own fault. You eat too much. You’re clogging our NHS waiting lists. You should go on a diet, get some exercise, learn self-control.’ This is the push-against position that gin women hits 38 percent (compared is the starting point for the book by to African men at 17 percent), whereas Sarah Boseley; health editor of The Chinese-origin adults only show obeGuardian newspaper. There are truths sity in seven percent. What are African to all of the above statements (if you women doing wrong? What are Chiare fat), but the author’s concerns are nese adults doing right? There is much disthat the demonisation cussion about the posof overweight people . . . when it comes to sible particular contri(by media, and polibution of free sugars ticians [and dietitians?]) is unrelenting prevention and treatment in relation to the risk of overweight. Sugand seems to do little of obesity, there is much ary and fruity drinks to prevent or treat the are now consumed in condition. Who is to finger pointing, but no greater amounts and blame and what can with greater frequency be done (in the view fights for ‘ownership’. than previously, and of Sarah Boseley)? There are no easy the author comments answers and Sarah that this may be one observes that when it consequence of previcomes to prevention and treatment of ous, and still current, public health adobesity, there is much finger pointing, vice to limit intakes of fats in the diet. but no fights for ‘ownership’. Increas- The multi-national soft drink manufacingly, media portraits of über-obese turers have all extended their ranges to individuals show voyeuristic non- include fruit juices and smoothies and sympathy and may in fact give com- the nearly cheapest natural sweetener fort to many of the viewing popula- now available to the food industry is tion who are themselves overweight, apple-juice concentrate produced in but not to the point of the fat-handicap bulk in China. The consumer is like a portrayed in the TV exposés. There are ping-pong ball of confusion between lots of statistics to confirm population concepts of natural versus artificial fattening, but of particular interest are and juice-good versus juice-bad. Pragthe peaks and dips of these figures: in matic dietetic advice on public health UK residents, obesity in African-ori- nutrition is needed more than ever,
NHDmag.com March 2015 - Issue 102
