Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It

Gary Taubes shook up the world with his controversial 2002 New York Times article, “What if it’s all been a big fat lie?”, where he questioned the scientific basis for the claim that fat makes us fat. Nearly five years later he followed up that article with Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage), one of the most thoroughly researched and well-written books I’ve ever read in my life regarding the history of food and nutrition, and the fact that most of what we now believe in the field isn’t based on anything scientific.

Last night my pre-order for Gary Taube’s newest book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It (Borzoi Books) finally went through, and the book showed up shortly afterwards on my iPad. Why We Get Fat is a book that’s similar to Good Calories, Bad Calories, but it distils the science into a form that’s more suitable for consumption by the average reader.

After reading Good Calories, Bad Calories, I reached out to Gary and offered to give him a bit of help setting up a website, since I thought it was important for him to be able to respond to critics and to help get the message out. While ultimately I didn’t really give all that much help, Gary was nice enough to include a little thank you to me in the Acknowledgements section of Why We Get Fat, which was a really nice gesture.

I’m about 25% of the way through the book right now, and thoroughly enjoying it. So definitely check it out if you’re interested in learning more about diet and nutrition, and just how deep the rabbit hole goes.