Stats:

✧ 72% of adults (20 an up) in the US are overweight or obese (over 42% of those are obese)

✧ 1/3rd of children are overweight or obese

✧ More than 1 billion people are obese. That's more than 1 in 8 people.

✧︎ Since 1990, rates have more than 2x in adults and 4x in children and teens.

✧ 7/10 Americans are obese or overweight but only 36% think they have a weight problem. (Talk about a lack of self awareness).

This book is for all the people who like to feel sorry for themselves and avoid any and all accountability for their own actions. The people who like to be told they are perfect when they know they have a million and one different things they need to work on in life.

The people who like to blame everyone else for their problems.

The people who like to feel pandered and pampered like a baby, this is for you.

This book is very annoying in that he is CONSTANTLY declaring one thing and then in the next sentence saying another. He lists many different POTENTIAL factors that COULD promote obesity.

And when he brings them up he says these things like they are well known facts, then a second later he tells you "the jury is still out on this one folks, we have no clue if this is actually a factor leading to obesity or not".

Some sections of this book are just one big MAYBE.

"Maybe this is a cause, but we don't know."

"Ohhh we have evidence this causes obesity in mice, but actually nevermind, maybe not, we don't know after all."

"Over the last decade this has been proven to cause obesity in pigs in several trials, but maybe the scientists were just dreaming when they discovered it, so really, we don't know."

"Oh yeah we discovered this gene plays a huge factor in obesity, but only .000001% of people have it so it really doesn't matter, I just wanted to tell you for fun."

I get that the consensus and research in this area may not be widespread, but the delivery of this information by the author could have been miles better. The way the author chose to write this is nauseating.

Constantly ping ponging between something (damn near) being a proven cause to "just kidding, we really have no fucking clue at the moment guys 🤪"

More Stats:

✧ Our fat cell count stays relatively constant even after weight loss (our count is set in childhood and adolescence).

✧ When you are obese, your body is in a constant state of inflammation

✧ Obesity promotes inflammation and inflammation promotes obesity

✧ Twin studies show obesity's (characteristic features) heritability ranges between 70% and 80%. Only our height has a higher heritability rate. But more than 60 genetic locations influence BMI and 33 influence body mass distribution so there are a LOT of other variables.

✧ In the next 12 years, over 4 Billion people are expected to be obese.

✧ Chemical exposures (in our plastics, products, environment, pesticides, drugs, etc) MAY play a key role in propagating obesity

✧ Mexico has the highest childhood obesity rates and the 2nd highest adult obesity rate. Over 75% of the population is overweight or obese.

✧ Children who spend over 3 hours a day in front of TVs or computer screens are 50% more likely to be obese than kids who spend less than 2.

✧ Over 33% of (1 in 3) adults in the United States has prediabetes

✧ 55% of adults don’t think they are overweight (and aren’t trying to lose weight) see the very first stat for the reality of things

✧ Eating too fast can cause you to eat more than you should.

He outlines some of the chemicals known to be the most harmful and he gives you guidelines on how to avoid/limit your exposure to them.

It’s a great inclusion to have in the book, but to no one’s surprise, the actual practicality of living this way is comical.

Here’s just one of the suggestions for avoiding Parabens.

“Consider limiting your use of products that stay on your skin for extended periods like lotion or creams” ^{(You better think twice about using that sunscreen now too /s)}

That's just absurd. Nevertheless, better to list these options than to omit them.

My Biggest Gripe: The Author Infantilizing Readers

Authors/people always want to placate grown adults just so they can be liked.

Saying “it’s not your fault” when over 72% of Americans are overweight and obese is like saying it’s not your fault you're addicted to your phone. Just blame Instagram and all of social media for that.

It’s funny how the author readily mentions other POTENTIAL causes that COULD exacerbate weight gain. When all that really does is highlight the fact that people are incredibly foolish for not placing even more care and attention to the food they put in their mouth. And how often they move their bodies (i.e the things they CAN control).

Even if you blindly and willingly accept that there are a myriad of contributing factors to obesity (many of which are outside of your control). That doesn’t change the fact that you’re overweight.

It doesn’t change the fact that eating less and exercising regularly has been a proven method of weight loss since the beginning of time.

Having more things to blame for you being overweight just makes it that much more important that as a grown adult you actually take some agency over your life and regulate the junk you put in your body.

Instead of fostering an internal locus of control (which would help to empower and build an individuals self confidence) the author skirts far more towards patting you on the back and telling you “it’s ok you’re fat, it’s not your fault” while waving an 800 calorie paraben filled donut in front of your face.

Citing numerous external factors for weight gain, only makes it THAT much more important that you pay attention to the factors you do control.

Thankfully later in the book he briefly states a more honest and objective view on obesity which simply put states the obvious: being obese is not healthy nor something to be proud of.

One of the best quotes from the book:

"We shouldn't spread misinformation. There should be an end to attempts to normalizing body sizes that increases a persons disease risk and decreases their life span."

Body Acceptance Movement:

So much of the body acceptance movement and wanting to see overweight females plastered all over advertisements is the result of a vocal mass of lazy, insecure, and unhealthy women wanting society to pander to them the same way women incessantly pander to one another when talking amongst themselves.

It's weak minded and weak willed people wanting to feel better about themselves and the awful decisions they continue to make in life.

When women advocate for "body acceptance" it never in a million years has ANYTHING to do with a man's body.

It's simply women wanting to avoid any and all accountability for being fat, unhealthy and overweight. Because anytime they see a slim healthy woman simply EXISTING, they can't help but compare themselves to her.

Instead of actually doing something about it and bettering themselves, they would rather have you wallow in their pity and delusion. They would rather continue to live in denial so they complain and try to make you think that being overweight and unhealthy is a good thing, because that's the same lie women tell themselves to avoid having to accept any responsibility for their horrible choices.

You will virtually NEVER find a single woman go out of her way to advocate for "body acceptance" when it's a male involved. 99,999 times out of 100,000 it's women solely advocating for women. Because that’s who they can’t stop comparing themselves to.

Other WOMEN!

And that’s (self acceptance) what they are really after as they desperately plead for society to make them feel better about how lazy they are. They want society to accept them, because they don't know how to accept themselves.

They can't come to terms with the fact that they are overweight so they want society to tell them "it's ok" to be unhealthy. Because if society doesn't conform to their delusion, then that means they would actually have to face reality (that being fat is ACTUALLY bad for you! IMAGINE THAT! 😵).

Let a man be overweight and 10 times out of 10 a girl will just look the other way and happily wait around for a healthier guy to hit her up. But when the responsibility to not be an obese cow falls on her shoulders, she just wants you to "accept her" for being her lazy, overweight and unhealthy self.

Men have never needed to spend their days trying to convince society to accept them. Because since the beginning of time they've offered so much more value to the world than others who solely exist to simply flaunt their meat suit.

I mean it's common sense, if someone truly believes "you are more than your body" then they wouldn't be spending their lives continuously obsessing over their body.

They would develop skills, interests, positive habits, helpful mindsets, ideas and have copious things to talk about OTHER than JUST their body.

It's like talking to someone and every 5 minutes they interrupt you to tell you how confident and courageous they are.

Nobody in the world who's truly confident has to do that. Similarly nobody who truly beliefs they are "more than just their body" has to try and convince others of that.

They show it through their actions. Their are plenty of fat men who own million and billion dollar companies.

They don't need society to pander to their unhealthy eating habits because they aren't emotionally frail nor reliant on others to feel a sense of self worth.

Yet that's exactly what women need you to do because the level of emotional maturity they possess is as strong as a string of dried spaghetti.

In Closing:

It's great that the author is bringing greater awareness to other factors that contribute to obesity. But the way in which he sidelines an individuals choices in the matter is just dumb.

We're talking about a nation that craves dopamine, distractions, instant gratification, convenience, trends, sensationalized media, mindless TikTok content/garbage, celebrity news, the (most fear based and bias) news, fame, doing whatever it takes to "fit in" and be liked etc.

Yet the author wholeheartedly takes a shit on the massive role that an individual's personal agency plays in managing their own health AS IF we are a nation of exemplary deities indulging in only the most divine habits known to man 😇

It's like he's trying to make (overweight) readers feel better about being unhealthy while simultaneously painting himself to be a pioneer (in this space) for shedding light on several other potential causes for obesity.

It's like he's saying:

"Hey, instead of focusing on this one method (eat well, exercise regularly) that we know works and is beneficial for you in a multitude of ways. Try looking at these 16 other causes we found to cause obesity. Oh and some of them are completely out of your control and some are just potential causes, so the jury's still out on them. But good luck deciding whether to leave it in or cut it out from your life 🙂"

The title for the book is pretty strange and doesn't fit at all if you ask me. There's little to no "outsmarting" obesity here. That title just further propagates the (false) idea that you AREN'T in control of your health.

I am glad the author is spreading awareness of some of the harmful chemicals companies are putting in our products and I'm sure he means well but this book was largely "meh" to me.

I'm not at all convinced that it's "someone else's fault" that most people in the United States (and many around the world) are overweight and unhealthy. This isn't a nation of dictators that control every nanosecond of your day.

Most people have so much choice and agency over their lives they literally don't even know what to do with themselves (hence they seek so many distractions) yet the author wants to diminish the role personal agency plays in our your health.

I can certainly agree with some of the other factors (toxins, genes etc.) playing a role in obesity, but at the end of the day, the average person in the USA (and elsewhere) has MORE than enough technology and information at their disposal to make smarter decisions then the ones they are currently making.

Many people DON'T prioritize health any more than they prioritize treating others with sincere kindness, so it's no surprise that both of these things are lacking in the world today.

My 2 Major Gripes:

• Trying to placate readers by shifting the blame and responsibility of obesity to an external locus of control
• Not clear and concise

I'd give this a 2.5 ⭐️⭐️✨

I wouldn't say it's bad, but personally there just wasn't a ton of new information to me (although I'm sure many people new to this topic will learn a fair bit). No grand insights or shifts in perspective for me.

And spreading the message of "it's not your fault" to the softest, most mentally frail, convenience filled generations to walk the Earth is DEFINITELY NOT going to help people improve their health.