Tackling the Obesity Crisis: Beyond Failed Approaches to Lasting Solutions

ISBN-13: 9783031481963 / Miękka / 2024 / 406 str.

David Benton

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O autorze

David Benton, PhD, DSc, is Professor of Psychology at Swansea University, UK. His interest in the influence of diet on brain functioning and cognition, has resulted in over 200 research articles and an H Index of 55 (Scopus).

The acceptance of over 200 invitations to speak on six continents and the widespread interest from multi-national food and ingredient companies, illustrates his impact. His work is quoted by the governments in the USA and UK when making public health recommendations. Invitations have been accepted to give evidence to the House of Commons and House of Lords in the UK.

The theme of the proposed book is that obesity cannot be understood without the perspectives of nutrition, physiology, biochemistry, psychology as well a societal viewpoint. His research reflects this range and has included papers on portion size, genetics, food addiction, sugar addition and non-nutritive sweeteners. A paper on calorie intake and the control of weight has been downloaded 35,000 times.

Blurb

The incidence of obesity has increased rapidly since 1980. The purpose of this book is to review public health approaches to this pandemic and describe why they have failed. Based on this, possible alternatives are discussed. 

A theme of the book is that to understand obesity you need to take nutritional, psychological, biochemical and physiological viewpoints, as well as a societal perspective. Yet public health policy has been characterized by simplistic approaches that often consider only one aspect of a particular discipline. Too often it has been claimed that one factor, for example fat or sugar, has caused obesity, or can have a major impact on it. To have any chance of influencing the prevalence of obesity, the size of the necessary changes, and complexity of the situation, must be recognized. 

Reducing the incidence of obesity is an urgent task and this book is intended to stimulate discussion, encourage public health policy makers and government to defend their policies, and consider alternatives. It is written in an accessible language, explaining connections in an easy to understand manner and is thus written for everyone interested in weight control and public health policy.