Pretty Unhealthy: Why Our Obsession with Looking Healthy is Making Us Sick

by Nikki Stamp

Why are we obsessed with wellness, but our health is getting worse? How have we messed up our relationship with food and exercise so badly? We are more obese, less active and more stressed than ever before and it's killing us. Today, we're more likely to die from a lifestyle disease than any other cause, and many of these would be preventable if we took better care of our health. Enter a vast wellness industry that has emerged in recent years, making big money promoting 'healthy' lifestyles. Except the aim isn't to make your body work it's to make your body look better.

Equipped with Instagram accounts or wellness blogs, each health advocate leads an army of people towards what is labelled 'health' but might actually be far from it. We are obsessed with body transformation and fitspiration, but the wrong advice is making us poor, tired and pretty unhealthy instead.

Pretty Unhealthy is a call to reclaim the definition of true to aim for bodies that are resilient to disease and can do everything we need them to do; and for us to feel emotionally happy in those bodies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2020

Reviews

[Veronica Lozada Tucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I respect the author and largely agreed with the central thesis, but it was a bad book. This is a topic that has been covered to death, and this boring and shallow book added nothing to the conversation. Furthermore, since the author is a cardio thorasic surgeon, I was hoping that the effect on the heart of bad diet and excercise would be discussed more. She also talked repeatedly about the scope of qualifications being limited in the case of nutritionists and personal trainers , but presented herself as an expert on topics that her training as a surgeon would not prepare her for. She is not a psichiatrist, eating disorder or obesity expert, yet she tackled questions that would be better answered by people with those qualifications without doing her investigative due diligence. She also regurgitated a lot of points about social media, eating disorders, and body positivity that have been a media mainstay for my entire adult life without adding anything except random anecdotes.

[Joss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the author talk about this book on TV and as I am interested in living a “healthy” lifestyle I decided to read the book. Unfortunately this was the most boring book that dragged on about online influencers for chapter after chapter. It might have been a better book if it had a lot more editing making the writing a lot tighter. But it seemed that the writer, after decrying someone or something, then turned around and asked “ does it really matter” on more than one occasion. While I agree the book has merit in tackling the problem of social media and body image, for me, it really only served to confuse the issue.

I gave this book 2 stars

[Ash ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I knew before I started this book that it was just 200 pages of repeating why she hates Instagram, I wouldn't have bothered reading it 🙃

[Tahlia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite repetitive by the end but overall explored the aspects of social media and health pretty well.

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

This book provided some important things to consider when addressing what it means to be healthy. I found myself agreeing with what was said and think this book would be helpful for people who haven't thought about the impact of things like social media on their ideas of what health is and how our society often equates health with beauty.

For me personally, I felt that it just skimmed the surface and didn't go into any real depth for any of the topics covered. A lot of the contents were things I already knew, so while some points were interesting, I didn't take anything new away from reading it. I'm sure others might though, and I think this book is a positive addition to the discussion on personal health and where its value lies.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really really wanted to love this book as much as I love Dr Nikki on insta. I respect her and appreciate her work.

Unfortunately I closed the book no less confused than when I first opened it.

As a fat person reading in excellent detail that my health is at risk because I'm fat but there is nothing I can really do about it because diets dont work is pretty demoralising.

I look to health at every size and intuative eating but even those were questioned. As was the body positivity movement.

So what then is suggested as a way to lose weight and therefore reduce those risks so clearly and worringly outlined early on? Well, nothing really. It lacked a solid conclusion 🤷‍♀️

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a really important topic and I completely agree with the author on pretty much every point. However, it was poorly written & very repetitive. I wish I could recommend this to friends but it really needs to be condensed & summarised.

[megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel like more people should read this, but also it’s not groundbreaking work. if you’re a person who’s already struggled with ed behavior or you have the emotional intelligence to understand that obsessions with “health” can quickly become unhealthy, this book just feels repetitive.

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf - so boring without any real information being presented. Like yes i get it we are doomed but what can we as individuals do about it?

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was an alright book, and like “Body Positivity Power” by Megan Crabbe perhaps this just wasn’t the book for me because I had heard most of this before.
I respect Dr Stamp and can very much appreciate the difficult space she walks in trying to balance giving sound health advice in a society that has demonised almost everything about health. Damned if you do damned if you don’t.
I did spent the whole book thinking there were no references which was devastating, only to find them at the back. This book could have been much improved by having them per chapter, thus allowing people to utilise any inspiration / curiosity derived from their recent reading to do further inquiring.

[MLB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to page 50 and wasn’t hooked so gave up. Life is too short to read a book that doesn’t hook you by page 50.

[Sinead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Lovereading for giving me a copy of this book for an impartial review.

Written by a heart surgeon, this book gives you an insight into how so-called diet and lifestyle industry infiltrate our subconscious and how we're bombarded with the wrong messages and so many messages that even the experts get confused.
The author writes with honesty and integrity and poses the arguments over how wrong the industries get it. It makes you feel better that if professionals can get it wrong, then we can't all be that bad.
This book is written clearly and covers a lot of ground - possibly too much (I think it could have been a little more editing before publication to avoid this). However, it does include some eye-opening facts and is a new way of looking at keeping ourselves healthy.
I am glad that this book is not just another 'how to' guide and does not condescend to its readers. Overall, an interesting read.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every person, especially every woman, needs to read this book. It is an easy to understand analysis of the diet, wellness and fitness industries, and how these can negatively affect both physical and mental health. It calls out the nonsense that is propagated online by influencers posing as experts who have no scientific training. It provides awareness of media and sales tactics and advocates for media literacy so as not to get sucked in by glossy images online. It also encourages that people 'stay in their lanes' professionally. It advocates for promoting health for diverse groups of people, including all races, abilities and sizes. This book has been released at a time where society needs to hear it most. For a holistic and thorough explanation of what true health encompasses, read this book!

[Matilda Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting so much more from this book. I specifically chose it because it was written by a very successful female doctor and surgeon and I assumed that the knowledge in it would therefore be based in science, and would be thorough and interesting and I would learn something new. Instead this book was just a regurgitation of all the books/articles/blogs I’ve ever seen on social media influence, body image and dieting. It was extremely negative and yet gave no real solutions to any of these issues. The only chapter I found mildly interesting was the one on eating disorders as that was the only chapter that I actually learnt something new in. This book gave absolutely no new insight into these topics, and the most helpful page in the entire book was the one at the end which listed other professionals who had more knowledge than her on these topics.

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an Aussie book on health, nutrition and exercise by cardiac surgeon Dr Nikki that provides a lot of clarity on ways to incorporate healthy practices into your life the way you want to, not the way social media and other 'influencers' tell you.

It's informative and at times hilarious as she recounts the number of people that take health advice from social media ooh and don't mention Pete Evans!

I do love the way she refers to Paleo, keto, detox, clean and fasting as Nutribollocks! Nailed it.

The book has a lot of sensible advice about how to regard your body and how to treat it well without becoming obsessed and anxious.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read with lots of facts and figures. Very relevant in this day and age with social media, as I too am guilty of following people on Instagram etc for fitness inspiration. For me it hit home, more than I thought it would.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

[Josie Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, well researched and inspiring. I particularly liked the end which outlined steps to take in your life. Going to do a cull of my social media. I also loved the recommendation section at the end of podcasts/ books/ accounts/ websites to have a look at. Gave it 4*s because at times it was repetitive. Overall, a good book that has made me think.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched reminders that skinny doesn't mean healthy. I think this book would have benefited from a bit more actionable information at the end of each chapter and more focus on some of the specific things to watch for as it relates to health advice.

Overall, it is a confronting and easy read and a great reminder to be critical in how health advice has been reduced to quick fixes.

[Meg 🌞]

i fundamentally agree with the core thesis of this book, i just don’t think it did a particularly great job in structuring arguments and covering some of the nuance surrounding the debates it discussed. would recommend some of jia tolentino’s essays from trick mirror surrounding wellness and influencer culture if you’re keen to read more about this topic.

[Amy Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love following Dr Nikki on Instagram, but I would have preferred more storytelling in this book. Bit tricky to do when you set out to write a book with research and rigour, but I found myself getting bored in parts and wanting to pick up other books. Totally agree with her central argument.

[Sharakael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this from the library and took quite a while to finish reading. To me this fell under the "interesting to know" category, but I suspect for some others this might be eye-opening.
Good arguments on why beauty does not equate health.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential considering the title is what enticed me. A great overall message. As a young woman who’s cut back on heavy social media use, this books addresses some of the reasons why.
You could read chapters 1,3,5&8. This is what I’d suggest

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Lots of food for thought here. Her advice about using critical thinking and common sense when on social media also applies to current Covid concerns. Don’t be led by the nose, people. Work out who’s feeding you garbage. And be kind to yourself.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with what she’s saying, but the book drags on and is not overly interesting.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A rehash of the Christian babble on you might look good, but without god your soul is sick. And to make it look sciency he signs "Dr."

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

No new information, just nice that a doctor is writing it.

[Ravenclaw Library Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty Unhealthy had an interesting premise that just wasn't realised in this book.
I wanted to like but unfortunately found it very repitive and slightly boring.

[Gia (지아) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had some good info but just felt so repetitive

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5