Praise for Michael Fumento and The Fat of the Land

Michael Fumento  ·  Books

  • (Starred Review) "Those familiar with Fumento’s previous two books . . . know that this medical journalist has a knack for debunking popular beliefs and revealing the true state of things. While this candid approach has incited controversy before, the author’s tone here is too likable to provoke the ire even of those groups he is most critical of . . . . Fumento is a rational man, but that doesn’t mean he’s dry. In fact, he’s a sharp and witty writer who isn’t afraid to joke around." — Publishers Weekly * (Starred Review) "Despite a $39 billion diet industry and the proliferation of "fat free, sugar-free, guilt-free" foods, Americans are fatter than ever and fatter than anyone else in the world. Fumento, a medical journalist and author of the controversial The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS, blames a variety of factors, from nutritional fads to the cult of victimization to the merchandising of oversized food portions. His basic premise, however, is that we must accept the fact that the more calories we ingest and the fewer we burn off, the fatter we get. True self-esteem, he notes, comes from taking control of our lives and responsibility for our actions. He indicts the myriad weight-loss `miracle’ gimmicks and reiterates the unpopular but proven remedy: Eat less and exercise more. Highly recommended." — * Library Journal* * "Anyone who’s trying to lose weight can surely benefit from this simple, humorous, educational, no-nonsense volume by Arlington medical journalist Fumento. It’s filled with his own experiences in the dieting game, quotes from just about everyone ever associated with workable — and mythological — weight-loss plans, pages of endnotes to back up what’s quoted, and puns that bring a smile to even the most skeptical lips . . . . This book is bulging with information, heavy on the humor and spiced with stories of profiteers and pushy peddlers in the diet industry. It’s loaded with charts and statistics, but they don’t detract from the overall good read." * "He writes that [the purpose] of The Fat of the Land [was] to bring together ’the best science has yet to offer the obese and slap it between two covers,’ and then ’do my darndest to make the science interesting.’ Mission accomplished, Michael. If you want to lose weight, do what Fumento recommends — count calories and get off your duff. And do what I recommend — read this book." — Charlene Cason, Norfolk, Virginia Pilot * "Michael Fumento, in The Fat Of The Land, has the guts to say that the emperor’s clothes don’t fit because the emperor is too fat. He debunks a lot of the myths about fat, dieting, exercise, and the industries that (pardon the pun) feed on them. He backs it up with a lot of research from very reputable sources. He’s going to make a lot of people very angry on two fronts: those who make all that money off the dieting public; and that same public who has spent all that money. Fumento writes what amounts to a doctoral dissertation with a sense of humor. His writing style is very friendly, and easy to understand. That’s good, because what he has to say needs to be told to those who don’t realize that the diet industry has been leading them down the supermarket aisle for years. Fumento does not play favorites in this book, nor does he recommend any specific diet plans other than a proper diet and exercise. But everyone who has been fighting the battle of the bulge should read this book. Then go out and burn your other diet books. That’s tough advice, but it won’t make much difference, because most people who buy them don’t follow them anyway. — San Antonio Express News * * "’The very act of living in the United States puts you at great risk for obesity,’ warns science writer Fumento [who] charges that the current craze for low-fat but not-so-low-calorie processed foods is giving consumers bigger waistlines while making megabucks for the food industry. The other profit-makers he pillories, with words like ’huckster’ and ’sham,’ are the writers (and publishers) of diet books. It is time for an attitude adjustment, he argues, calling for society to return to the values of moderation and setting limits. — *Kirkus Reviews * "This book is a call to action and a sermon to the heavyset. Mr. Fumento used to be one of them. With the passion of the convert, he tell them not to accept their appearance. They aren’t condemned to blubber by their genes, and they will probably die early if they don’t get rid of it—the statistics are incontrovertible. Along the way, Mr. Fumento takes on diet quackery with his vintage skewer. His main target is the idea that fat content in foods is all that matters, a theory tacitly endorsed by the nation’s labeling laws. Wrong, he says. Calories are calories." — Tim Ferguson, Wall Street Journal * "Putting theories to test and shysters to shame, the book is worth reading for its lively look at the confusing ideas out there." — Angela Allen, San Diego Union-Tribune

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