I found this book at Pendleton Book Company today. I have read Fast Food Nation and am interested to see what this book has to say.

After reading "Fast Food Nation", I was interested in seeing whether this book offered similar views or a whole new perspective. I was happy to find that "Fat Land" approached the obesity epidemic from a different--and more "easy to put into practice"--point of view. The insights and statistics in this book were sad and scary--but not surprising. Tonight, while waiting for my husband to get off work, I sat and people-watched. He works for a local cell phone store and has Pizza Hut on one side and Game Stop on the other. Out of the 15 people that I counted, 9 of them were obviously overweight. They seemed desperate...and in bondage...and in denial. It really is an epidemic--very scary.

I found it interesting that Critser made a believeable case that people would prefer quantity over quality in their fast food choices. What lazy, gluttonous, selfish pigs we have become here in America...I include myself in this statement as well.

This book has definitely inspired me to reaffirm the health commitments I've made to myself lately. There really is no excuse for the self-indulgent life I've been living for the last 10 years or so.

When addressing the issues of childhood obesity, Critser said that, "parents must take back control of the table". This is true not only regarding what we feed our kids, but what we allow them to see, hear, experience, and tolerate, as well. Many parents are desperately lacking in responsibility and will power to actually PARENT their children.

Another thought I had while reading this was in regard to our bondage to food and excess. Critser writes, "...almost everyone in America is too rich in the fundamentals: Almost everyone has access to maximal cheap calories, and almost everyone has the opportunity to expend minimal calories. Such is the gift---and the challenge---of global capitalism...". I just really pondered this and thought, 'this statement discusses our freedoms...our "rights" and access to as much food as possible'. But are we really free? Seems to me we're desperatlely in bondage to our addictions to excess. It seems we would really be free if we had access to all these excesses but chose to live moderately.

Another minor thing that bugged me throughout the book is the phrase: "in toto". In context, it seems to mean "in total", but I have never heard that phrase before and I just can't seem to stop thinking of Dorothy and the Land of Oz! :)

This book will make it's next stop in Hong Kong, China and then continue on in a bookring. Enjoy!


RULES FOR BOOKRING:

Please journal the book and PM the next in line for their address as soon as you receive it. Please keep it for no longer than 4 weeks. Please make a journal entry when you pass it on.
Here is the mailing order:

scrutiny (Hong Kong)
RockDg9 (Australia)
midlifecrisis (UK)
chich (France)
gringuitica (Costa Rica)
hopi100 (Virginia)
ariesgirl29 (Tennessee)
Littlewhitebird (California)
Bluestocking88 (WA)
elizardbreath (Oregon)

Have fun!!

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending to scrutiny tomorrow.

Arrived today in the mail - will start on it shortly!

Didn't finish it in time - mailed it on today so as not to hold up the bookring!

Arrived here today. I am interested in the topic of fast food, so this should add to the tapestry :oP

This was a great in-depth look as some of the causes for the American obesity epidemic. I like that it gave a history of nutritional thought and dieting, and a history of the progression of Physical Education in American schools.

It was well written and very well researched. With enough background information to make some solid suggestions for the future. I agree that fat 'acceptance' is a huge issue which needs addressing. An annoying thing with writing style was the over-use of pretentious big words! Like 'promulgate' and 'fulminating'. :oD

PMing midlifecrisis.

Arrived today - thank you. I will read and journal as soon as I can.

I'm sure the book deserves more than 6 stars for the amount of research and analysis it contains. However I personally found it quite hard work and got a bit bogged down in US acronyms and politicians I had never heard of. I regret that by the end I was skipping pages wholesale. One of the parts that interested me was the decline of four "censors" of gluttony - parents, schools, church and society - which previously acted as moderating influences in our eating habits. Thank you anyway for the chance to give this a try. I am presently awaiting the next person's address and will journal again when it has been posted.

Posted today to Chich.

Book received today, thanks a lot midlifecrisis for passing it on and elizardbreath for starting this ring!

A very interesting read, if a bit scary in terms of what the future may hold for American children (and possibly European ones sooner or later!). The book was very well researched but, as middlifecrisis said, it was a bit too much (especially the medical part: diabetes, insulin etc...) and I found myself skimming through the last chapters of the book. Still, this was a very insightful read:) Thanks for sharing elizardbreath!

I've already PMed gringuitica for her address and will send her the book as soon as she gives it to me.

ETA (May 2): gringuitica asked to be skipped, I'll send the book to hopi100 as soon as she gives me her address.

Book sent to hopi100 today, enjoy!



Entry #17 for the 2008 Keep Them Moving Challenge

This just arrived in the mail today -- thanks so much! I can't wait to get started. :)

I really enjoyed this! I've cultivated an interest in nutrition/fitness/health studies over the years, and this book addressed the subjects at hand in an interesting and forthright manner. I remained engaged throughout the chapters and learned so much in the process! And I have to say, Critser's book has already caused me to look at our culture a bit differently ... not to mention turning the microscope on myself. :)

I have ariesgirl29's address in hand and will send this book to her tomorrow! :) Thanks again for sharing this!

Got this in the mail yesterday - thanks for sharing!

07.05.08 - littlerockbird asked to be moved down this list - am going to PM bluestocking88

Mailed off to Bluestocking88 today - enjoy! Thanks for including me!

Arrived safely in today's mail. Thank you!

This book was very thought provoking. I've recently read Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Affluenza, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which all touch on similar themes. I found the first couple chapters to be very close to the other books I read, but I was intrigued by the new programs instituted by the schools and medical offices to counter act the obesity epidemic.

I've always been suspicious of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), but reading this has me reading even more labels and realizing just how much High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is out there. Today I picked up a can of diced tomatoes and realized it had HFCS in it. I guess the tomatoes weren't ripe enough so they had to sweeten them up! I remember when I worked at McDonalds in High School I was told the fries were soaked in a fructose solution to make them taste better. Likewise the buns were not toasted, rather they were 'carmelized' as it's the cooked sugars that give the buns the brown 'toasted' color. The extra reminder as to the evils of fast food were well appreciated.

We've always been pretty health conscious eaters. Every summer I make jam and can peaches, pears, and applesauce for the year never realizing I was not only making good food, but also keeping some HFCS out of our house. As diabetes runs in both mine and my husband's family, I am now on a quest to remove the last of the evil HFCS out of our house.

Thanks again, I will be sending it home shortly.

Sorry this has taken so long to get back into the hands of the USPS. Things are maddenly busy here but I am finally ticking things off my to do list.

This is going out in today's mail. Thank you so much for being patient.

The book is home! Thank you to everyone who participated and faithfully moved it on. Book will find a new home soon!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

RABCKing to kaila-ann who has this on her wishlist. Enjoy!

To the finder of this book:

This book is gift, no strings attached, from me to you. You may keep it forever, pass it along to a friend, or release it into the wild to be found by someone else.

If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community. I hope you'll join us...it's free! If you do, please consider using me, elizardbreath, as your referring member. You can even remain anonymous if you wish!

If you are in the Pendleton, Oregon area, I'd love for you to check out my Official BookCrossing Zone at Whitey's Carmel Corn on the corner of Main and Court streets. Upstairs, you'll find a whole shelf full of books that you can choose from for free---and even leave some of your own!

I hope you'll make a brief journal entry so all the previous and future readers can track this book's journey.

Thanks, and Happy BookCrossing! :)

I was not expecting this book in the mail today but thank you very much. Will be adding to Mt. TBR and then sending on to someone who was skipped in the original bookring.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

As part of our trade

My Review:
http://lmb-ohmy.blogspot.com/2009/02/unfinished-books.html

I received the book in the mail today.
I'm so happy that it made its way to me after all!
I hope I'll be able to read it soon after the three books that are ahead of it to be read.

Little Free Library at Ten Thousand Villages.

Welcome to BookCrossing!

Making a journal entry here lets me know the book has been found and is safe in your hands. The book is yours now! Read it, give it to a friend, pass it on, or keep it forever--it's your choice.

If you pass it on to someone or leave it "in the wild" for someone else to find, please make another journal entry or release notes here to explain that it's travelling to find another home.

You can remain anonymous on the website or join BookCrossing. Joining is free, safe, and spam free and you'll get an e-mail every time a new person finds this book. You'll be able to watch it move around and find out what other readers thought of it.

I hope you enjoy the book. Happy reading!