Skip to main content

Distributed for University College Dublin Press

Ever Seen a Fat Fox?

Human Obesity Explored

Ever seen a fat fox? Didn’t think so. Why it is that only humans - or animals in the care of humans - develop obesity? In Ever Seen a Fat Fox?: Human Obesity Explored Professor Mike Gibney delves into the history of the human relationship with food. He traces the evolution of our modern diet and looks to science to offer solutions to the phenomenon of human obesity. He calls on governments to cease the single-issue ad-hoc approach and demands a massive governmental long-term investment in weight management. It is a commonly held belief that obesity is a recent phenomenon. Professor Gibney reveals that obesity is nothing new - in fact, the modern upward trend in obesity began in the mid-nineteenth century. Obesity has been part of human experience whenever and wherever we’ve had affluence. There are many who seek to apportion blame for the epidemic of obesity. Blaming the food industry for obesity is always popular: sugar is public enemy number one. Debunking exaggerated views and cutting through the mixed messaging Gibney demonstrates that most food processing techniques are old, hundreds and thousands of years old.The genetics of obesity, the practice of dieting, and the value of physical activity are thoroughly assessed.The failures of the players in obesity - including the media, scientists, academic organisations, international agencies, specifically the WHO, and the food industry are brought into sharp focus. What can we learn from the fox? An expert in public health and personalised nutrition with bestselling books and over 300 peer-reviewed papers in the area, Professor Mike Gibney uncovers the full story behind obesity based on painstaking research, and offers us tangible solutions to this very human phenomenon.

250 pages | © 2016

Sociology:


University College Dublin Press image

View all books from University College Dublin Press

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Chapter 1. Ever seen a fat fox? Chapter 2. Obesity and health measurements and metrics Chapter 3. Human obesity - old and new Chapter 4. The human food chain - old and new Chapter 5. Culpable foods Chapter 6. Regulating Food intake - the eyes have it Chapter 7. Fitness and fatness Chapter 8. Weight management - the personal perspective Chapter 9. Weight management - the national perspective Chapter 10. The nature versus nurture debate Chapter 11. Eating disorders Chapter 12. The stigmatisation of fatness Chapter 13. Obesity - politics, players and ploys Chapter 14 - Reflections and projections Notes Index.

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press