Book Description

An eye-opening, paradigm-shattering examination of what makes us fat. In theNew York Timesbest sellerGood Calories, Bad Calories,acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes argues that certain kinds of carbohydrates—not fats and not simply excess calories—have led to our current obesity epidemic. Now he brings that message to a wider, nonscientific audience in this exciting new book. Persuasively argued, straightforward, practical, and with fresh evidence for Taubes’s claim,Why We Get Fatmakes his critical argument newly accessible. Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century—none more damaging than the “calories-in, calories-out” model of why we get fat—and the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulin’s regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers key questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat or avoid? Concluding with an easy-to-follow diet,Why We Get Fatis an invaluable key to understanding an international epidemic and a guide to improving our own health.Gary Taubesis a contributing correspondent forSciencemagazine, and his writing has also appeared inThe AtlanticandThe New York Times Magazine.He has received three Science in Society Journalism Awards from the National Association of Science Writers, the only print journalist so recognized. He is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Investigator at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.