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114th out of 136 books
—
108 voters
The Hundred Year Diet: America's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight
by
Susan Yager
A lively cultural history of the American weight loss industry that explores the origins of our obsession with dieting
As a nation battling an obesity epidemic, we spend more than $35 billion annually on diets and diet regimens. Our weight is making us sick, unhappy, and bigger than ever, and we are willing to hand over our hard-earned money to fix the problem. But most p
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
May 11th 2010
by Rodale Books
(first published 2010)
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As the lengthy title explains, this is a book about the American quest for a solution to being overweight, including diets both faddish and sensible, bizarre equipment, pills, manufactured foods, and more.
It starts a little over 100 years ago, when the first fad diets in the US developed as part of certain evangelical Christian practices. Eventually religious cults turned into health clinics, and health clinics turned into weight loss resorts for the rich and famous. Any actual science came muc...more
It starts a little over 100 years ago, when the first fad diets in the US developed as part of certain evangelical Christian practices. Eventually religious cults turned into health clinics, and health clinics turned into weight loss resorts for the rich and famous. Any actual science came muc...more
I was disappointed in this. It starts out well -- cataloging the insane diets of the 1800s and on, you realize just how nutty Americans have been about food for quite a long time. The discussions are all really superficial, however, which was especially frustrating since the book is relatively short. There would have been room for a much deeper discussion, and I felt like I was reading a book aimed at high school students.
I was really disappointed, however, at the last few chapters, which were e...more
I was really disappointed, however, at the last few chapters, which were e...more
Lots of interesting information here, about the beginnings of America's obsession with diet, weights, and the evils of food. I would have liked more detail about the different diet doctors, because those sections were fascinating.
I felt that it ran out of steam in the end -- Yager doesn't have anything very interesting to say about the current food landscape, and I thought her conclusion that everyone was going to start listening to Michael Pollan and stop buying so much processed food was wildl...more
I felt that it ran out of steam in the end -- Yager doesn't have anything very interesting to say about the current food landscape, and I thought her conclusion that everyone was going to start listening to Michael Pollan and stop buying so much processed food was wildl...more
First, this book was AMAZING! I usually don't gush over non-fiction books because on average they tend to be dense, dry books that take a lot of will power to get through. THIS book is different. It is so well written it reads like a novel, a real page turner! The Hundred Year Diet is a straight forward, plain language, simple to understand history of America's diet since the mid-19th century. Ms. Yager definitely took her time and did her homework because this book is very well researched and t...more
I am currently in the midst of improving my health and diet and this book was right up my alley. An interesting look at weight loss fads through the years. Even during the great depression, we were still a dieting nation. I had no idea! I also found it interesting to learn how little you actually lose on the various supplements. Sure, they seem like the work but not as well as actually moving your body. And with bad side-effects, instead of the good side-effects from exercise.
The bottom-line of...more
The bottom-line of...more
Goodreads win! Looks like it will be an interesting read.
The Hundred Year Diet: American's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight turned out to be pretty good. I enjoyed the reading first half of the book which took you through a few decades of dieting regimens that sounds absolutely ridiculous now. I loved learning something new about America's dieting history. Crazy stuff folks used to do to "reduce".
The last few chapters were just okay. Nothing jumped out at me that I didn't already know. The...more
The Hundred Year Diet: American's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight turned out to be pretty good. I enjoyed the reading first half of the book which took you through a few decades of dieting regimens that sounds absolutely ridiculous now. I loved learning something new about America's dieting history. Crazy stuff folks used to do to "reduce".
The last few chapters were just okay. Nothing jumped out at me that I didn't already know. The...more
Jul 22, 2012
Joy Weese Moll
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Joy Weese by:
from Why Calories Count by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim
Shelves:
diet
As the title suggests, The Hundred Year Diet covers the history of dieting in America from about World War I to the present day, with much of the message being “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” In parallel, of course, it also covers the history of weight during that time, changes in the Met Life charts and in the weights of Americans throughout the last century. Here the message is that the US has been declared too fat since at least the 1950s, even when the data didn’t supp...more
It was very interesting to read about the history of dieting. A lot of stuff I never thought about. It was mostly well written, some of the transitions were weird to me, which made me dwell on them. But, luckily, the story was fascinating enough for me to get sucked back in. I think anyone who diets all the freaking time should read this, it is not a diet book by any means, but it does somewhat explain why we feel the need to try crazy schemes to get skinny.
Interesting characterization of our relationship with carbohydrates, fats,and protein. Diets, like fashion, apparently goes through trendy cycles. Talks about history of Atkins, Pritikin, Food Combining, South Beach, and so many more.
An interesting look at the oxymoron that is the American outlook towards food and health. Not a diet book in the general sense but more an overview of the history of America's food 'obsession'. A lot of the content is just plain common sense or common knowledge for those who have tried a lot of the modern 'diet' plans. It is written in a plain straightforward, non-textbook way that make for an easy (well researched) informative read.
Interesting historical re-telling of American's crazy obsession with dieting, dating back to the early 20th century.
I've been in a non-fiction slump for a long time, but I really liked this one!
This book is a history of diet fads in America over the last 100 years.
Helps put people's obsessions w/ dieting in perspective.
The historic information (pre-1980) was the most interesting part of the book. She starts injecting her opinion in little bits, but by the end of the book, she is full on preaching (to the choir, in this case). So, she has the same message as Michael Pollan and all of his followers.
So very true...........Susan speaks with common sense.
Mar 31, 2010
Francesca
marked it as to-read
I really hope I get this one, looks amazing!
Love it so far, just really well written in a conversational tone.
Really engaging and easy to get into, easy to read. That's a big plus for nonfiction for me, I have had enough of dry textbook type tomes from college, and I search out more pop-science/pop-psychology/etc types of nonfic.
Really engaging and easy to get into, easy to read. That's a big plus for nonfiction for me, I have had enough of dry textbook type tomes from college, and I search out more pop-science/pop-psychology/etc types of nonfic.
The book had some interesting points in regarding to dieting. If you are one of those whom society calls "yo-yo dieters" this book is for you! This book really makes you think about the foods you eat and how you plan your meals.
Informative without being boring. I'm learning everything I ever wanted to know about why we eat the way we do. Great book. I won my copy through First Reads and will definitely recommend it to friends.
This book was difficult to get into. It was slow at first but it gets better further into the book. The information presented was interesting enough to keep me reading.
May 18, 2013
Bobbie
added it
Apr 17, 2013
Chris La
marked it as to-read
Feb 03, 2013
Crystel
marked it as to-read
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