The fattening of America : how the economy makes us fat, if it matters, and what to do about it

The Resource The fattening of America : how the economy makes us fat, if it matters, and what to do about it
Label
The fattening of America : how the economy makes us fat, if it matters, and what to do about it
Title remainder
how the economy makes us fat, if it matters, and what to do about it
Statement of responsibility
Eric A. Finkelstein, Laurie Zuckerman
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"What's behind the sudden, explosive rise in obesity rates? In a word, it's economics. Author Eric Finkelstein, a renowned health economist who has spent much of his career studying the economics of obesity, with the help of coauthor Laurie Zuckerman, reveals why America's growing waistline is a by-product of our economic and technological success. Because of declining food costs, especially for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, and increasing usage of technology, which make Americans more sedentary, the environment has changed in such a way that we're eating more calories and burning off less." "Finkelstein and Zuckerman blend theory, research, and engaging - sometimes hilarious - personal anecdotes to break down the causes and the consequences of America's obesity epidemic. One by one, they explore the media's claim that obesity is making our businesses less competitive, pushing good jobs overseas, hurting our military readiness, increasing our taxes, and helping to bankrupt the Medicare and Medicaid Programs. Along the way, the authors also reveal how the obesity epidemic has spurred tremendous demand for all sorts of new products and services, creating a flourishing new market that they call "The ObesEconomy."" "The Fattening of America outlines the issues we must deal with to confront obesity. The authors explore the role that businesses and policymakers play in America's obesity epidemic, and explain that successful obesity prevention strategies need to do exactly the opposite of where the economy is taking us. They need to make it cheaper and easier to be thin - not fat. However, because obesity is a natural by-product of an expanding economy, the authors question whether or not obesity prevention efforts, even if successful, would actually leave some individuals worse off."--Jacket
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
362.196/39800973
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
RA645.O23
LC item number
F56 2008
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
NLM call number
  • 2008 B-904
  • WD 212
NLM item number
F499f 2008

Context

Context of The fattening of America : how the economy makes us fat, if it matters, and what to do about it

Work of

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Waubonsee Community College. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...