New Book: Fat Politics

Thousands of BFBers have pointed me to the new book by J. Eric Oliver, Fat Politics. Freakonomics author Steven Levitt likes what he's read. Here's part of a review by Publishers Weekly:

Arguing that fatness is perfectly compatible with fitness, [Oliver] contends that scapegoating obesity drives Americans to experiment with dangerous crash diets, appetite suppressants and weight-loss surgeries, while distracting us from underlying harmful changes in the American lifestyle-mainly our incessant snacking on junk food and shunning of exercise and physical activity, of which weight gain is perhaps merely a "benign symptom."

Interesting stuff!