Book Review: The Diet Myth
April 23, 2008 – 6:09 am
Remember when eggs were good for you? Then the whites were good but the yolks were bad? Now both are o.k. in moderation, but watch out for “bad” carbs! Paul delivers an effective argument that the evidence fails to prove that a person’s weight is a deciding factor in that personal health. Instead Paul argues that activity level is the key determinant of health. Furthermore, Paul brings to light other less widely accepted and promoted academic research that deals with the area of weight loss.
Have you ever read a book that completely changed your opinion on a topic? It seems like those types of books are few and far between for me these days, but the Diet Myth was quite an experience.
The book is easy to read and flows nicely, and yet is full of detailed information needed to support the authors argument. I can’t frame up an argument nearly as well as Paul, so I’m not going to try. I will say that his main points, all of which are well researched, fall along the lines of:
- the most quoted and referenced medical research reports on obesity fail to prove beyond a down that weight poses a major health risk
- the studies fail to account for activity level
- the studies use statistics to inaccurately support the researchers’ hypotheses (if 4 out of 1000 study participants dies at an early age and only 2 die in the control group, that’s a 100% increase!)
- the data from the studies show that the highest risk weight class are those that are underweight (based on BMI) rather than those that are overweight
This book is engaging, thorough, and perfect for the detail-oriented reader. If your interested you can find it here at amazon.com (aff link).
| 2.5 |
If You Liked This Post Then Please Check These Out...
|
