Globesity: A Planet Out of Control?

Front Cover
Earthscan, 2013 - Business & Economics - 201 pages
Obesity represents one of the major global health challenges of the 21st century.Its occurrence has now reached epidemic proportions, not only in industrialized nations, but increasingly in less developed countries too.Written by world-leading specialists in public health nutrition, Globesity cuts straight to the underlying nature and causes of this devastating trend. It shows that the causes of obesity are primarily socio-economic and the result of a distorted agricultural and food production and supply system. To address this problem, we must learn how to better manage the physical, social and economic environment rather than simply focusing on individual lifestyle choices.The authors draw startling parallels between the obesity crisis and climate change, both of which are characterized by the over-consumption of increasingly scarce resources and require radical, urgent and sustainable solutions. The authors argue that if we are to deal with the twin crises of our climate and our waistlines, action must be taken now.Drawing on a wide range of sources and disciplines, including anthropology, economics, sociology, epidemiology, medicine and nutrition, Globesity provides a vital treatment of the issues for general readers, health professionals, policy-makers and students alike.
 

Contents

Chapter 1 Wave of Panic Across the Planet
1
Chapter 2 Badnosh and Other Paradoxes of the AbundantSociety
17
Chapter 3 Revolution on our Plates
35
Chapter 4 Agriculture in the Age of More is More
51
Chapter 5 Welcome to WalMart
67
Chapter 6 Culprits or Scapegoats?
81
Chapter 7 Go Active
95
Chapter 8 Slimming with Pills
103
Chapter 9 Prevention is Better than Cure
119
Chapter 10 Some Leads and their Limits
133
An Odd Couple?
149
Epilogue At the Crossroads
159
Bibliography
163
Index
173
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2013)

Francis Delpeuch and Bernard Maire are Research Directors in public health nutrition and work at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Human Nutrition at the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le D veloppement) in Montpellier, France. Emmanuel Monnier is a scientific journalist. Michelle Holdsworth is Associate Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, UK.