Food Fight: The Inside Story of The Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It

Dr. Kelly Brownell has spent much of his career fighting the food industry's attempts to make us all fat. He brings a crusader's passion and a scientist's accuracy and thoroughness to "Food Fight". He and co-author Katherine Horgen see obesity as a public health crisis like smoking or drunk driving. They take the social movement against smoking as a model and call on us all to get involved, for our own sake and our children's.This book is extremely well-referenced, drawing on scientific articles, popular journalism and books like Fast Food Nation. Brownell and Horgen reveal the huge scope of America's problem with weight and tell how the problem is spreading all over the world. They show how the food industry has penetrated schools, government agencies, and entertainment media to market sugary, fatty foods to adults and children.Brownell is especially concerned about children, who lack the power to defend themselves against food advertising and easily available sweets. He demolishes the "personal responsibility" argument used by the calorie pushers. How can children be expected to say "no" to food that tastes good, is readily available in their schools and communities, is recommended by their favorite media characters or sports stars, and which nobody is warning them against?The authors give dozens of suggestions for social changes that could increase physical activity (ex. bike paths), reduce soft drink consumption (ex a small tax that would go to fund nutrition education and provision of healthy school lunches), and make healthy food more available (a problem for a very large number of people in America.) They also have lots of good suggestions for political activism.What "Food Fight" does not include is strategies for individuals and families to protect themselves and live healthier lives. That's not what the book is about - it's about the politics of food, and how we can change the environment so that healthy living becomes easier.The writing style is clear, although not especially entertaining. But there is some humor, such as a subheading on the huge size of restaurant portions: "Nelson, party of four: your muffin is ready."Food Fight is a political manifesto by a crusader who has already been attacked repeatedly by the food industry. He makes a strong case, one I will use in my upcoming book, "The Politics of Diabetes." I encourage readers to support Dr. Brownell and Horgen's cause.David Spero RN, author of The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002) [...]

Food Fight is about the inside story of the food industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and what we can do about it. It is a very interesting read. But it does take a while to get through. Or it did for me. It's not a book you are just going to sit down and read from cover to cover. It's one you are going to read a little at a time as it is a very long, fact filled book.If you have ever wondered how the food industry markets their products, you will find this very interesting. Food Fight gets into the studies that have been done and the processes the food industry goes through to attracts its target audience. Mostly this book focuses on children as the target audience. Both through tv and product packaging. Food Fight also shows what can be done to put a halt to children being the target of unhealthy foods as well as what can be done to get healthier foods into the schools.This is a very good book. It would be very good for someone to read who is in a place of power to be able to implement the actions that are talked about in this book. Just be prepared for a long read. Because this book really is. But I did find it to be very informative. And it gave me lots of ideas on food health that I can practice in my own home.

This is more of a practical manual on how to get some change done than a page turner meant for entertainment. I laud the authors for this, but for those of us who don't have time to get out and become community organizers, I think other books offer the same expose.

If only more people were concerned with what we are putting in our bodies and who is in control of it!

Excellent. Academically of a very high standard. Compulsive reading.

As expected

Yowsa! This is a well researched account of how the food manufacturers are luring Americans into obesity beginning with our children. Companies use product placement, product endorsement, product sizing and other factors to lure us into purchasing items that are not always the best for our health. By starting with our children, these manufacturers can capture a market and make profits for life. Take soft drinks for example. Through active promotion, soda companies have encouraged greater consumption. According to Brownell, soda consumption in the eleven through seventeen age group has doubled within the past 20 years. Stores like 7-Eleven have increased the large size of pop from 16 oz to a 64 oz Double Gulp. Celebrities are used to push pop and brand name bottles show up on popular television shows.A twenty ounce bottle of a typical soft drink has 15 teaspoons of sugar. Is it any wonder that soda is the number one cause of obesity in children? Brownell walks you through shocking examples of how Disney and other characters that are plastered on boxes of usually processed food items capture the child's desire. How sports heros like Michael Jordan (McDonald's) and entertainers like Garth Brooks (Dr. Pepper) are used to sell foods many of which are not in the consumers best interest. Different manufactureres are out there lobbying to get your dollars and they are not thinking of your expanding girth or health. The sugar industry, for example, encourages the addition of sugar to everything from peanut butter to cereal to condiments to increase their bottomline (Americans consume 152 pounds per person per year). The idea of MORE FOOD equals value is also covered. Why buy 1 taco at 89cents when you can have two for only a few cents more. Again encouraging consumption. Yes you can upgrade from that minibon to a classic cinnabon for only 48cents. But that 48cents will buy you 370 extra un-needed calories! Brownell shares in depth the temptation our schools are facing. Many schools are selling out to pizza and soda companies. These rich producers offer millions of dollars to the educational system in exchange for brand placement. The schools eager to supplement their meager resources are loathe to turn it down. Brownell also gives information on what we can do to stem the tide of the unhealthy food that is being foisted on us. He gives a number of suggestions including incentives for purchasing healthy foods, taxes on non-nutritious food, greater access and lower prices on real food and much more. Most of us recognize that we are being targeted by the food producers. But as you read through this 358 page book you will realize just how far reaching the problem is. An excellent read for parents who are having a hard time resisting the call of "Blues Clues" fruit treats and for the eater who wonders why they just sucked in a muffin that could easily feed 4. Excellent information and resource! Lee Mellott

Real Food for thought Read this to open your eyes about how the Food Industry are so ruthless about pushing processed and refined foods, without any care about Health. Just the same as cigarettes were. The difference is that we have to eat! We don't have to smoke!