Ever Seen a Fat Fox?: Human Obesity Explored - Softcover

'Governments around the world, including our own, are struggling to devise strategies that will stem and ultimately reverse this epidemic [obesity]. These are the issues addressed in the latest book by Prof Mike Gibney, one of Ireland's most prominent nutritional scientists. Gibney is eminently qualified to reflect on the myriad forces - biological, behavioural, environmental, economic and cultural - that drive the obesity epidemic and to propose potential solutions at both the individual and policy level.' The Irish Times, 13 August 2016 'This book is a refreshing change of pace because it is so incredibly level headed. Are fast food and SSBs good for you? No, and Gibney agrees. But are we placing too much blame at the hands at the level of the food creation PROCESS and not enough on total AVAILABILITY? Perhaps.' The Nutrition Wonk, 20 August 2016 'This is a thoughtful book from one of the most provocative and knowledgeable voices in Irish food science. Those who are tired of simplistic arguments by unqualified commentators and celebrities, and who want to really engage with the fascinating science of nutrition, will be well rewarded.' Sunday Times, 3 July 2016

Ever seen a fat fox? Didn't think so. Why it is that only humans - or animals in the care of humans - develop obesity? In Ever Seen a Fat Fox?: Human Obesity Explored Professor Mike Gibney delves into the history of the human relationship with food. He traces the evolution of our modern diet and looks to science to offer solutions to the phenomenon of human obesity. He calls on governments to cease the single-issue ad-hoc approach and demands a massive governmental long-term investment in weight management. It is a commonly held belief that obesity is a recent phenomenon. Professor Gibney reveals that obesity is nothing new - in fact, the modern upward trend in obesity began in the mid-nineteenth century. Obesity has been part of human experience whenever and wherever we've had affluence. There are many who seek to apportion blame for the epidemic of obesity. Blaming the food industry for obesity is always popular: sugar is public enemy number one. Debunking exaggerated views and cutting through the mixed messaging Gibney demonstrates that most food processing techniques are old, hundreds and thousands of years old.The genetics of obesity, the practice of dieting, and the value of physical activity are thoroughly assessed. The failures of the players in obesity - including the media, scientists, academic organisations, international agencies, specifically the WHO, and the food industry are brought into sharp focus. What can we learn from the fox? An expert in public health and personalised nutrition with bestselling books and over 300 peer-reviewed papers in the area, Professor Mike Gibney uncovers the full story behind obesity based on painstaking research, and offers us tangible solutions to this very human phenomenon.