Description
Book SynopsisAnxious Eaters shows that fad diets are popular because they fulfill crucial social and psychological needs—which is also why they tend to fail. Janet Chrzan and Kima Cargill bring together anthropology, psychology, and nutrition to explore what these programs promise yet rarely fulfill for dieters.
Trade Review[A] smart and comprehensive survey. * Publishers Weekly *
Rather than guiding readers to weight loss or body acceptance, Chrzan and Cargill hope to turn the popular notion of “good” and “bad” foods inside out. * Atlantic *
Two leading food scholars tackle the phenomenon of fad diets and our susceptibility to sign on to them. Akin to religious experience, the diet promises transformation, social fulfillment, and ultimately happiness and redemption. Even after repeated failures, we return to the quick and easy diet - which marketers in the industry know all too well. Chrzan and Cargill dissect our urge to control our bodies through food intake, a perennially and vitally important topic. -- Ken Albala, author of
At the Table: Food and Family around the WorldIn the face of overwhelming evidence that diets don’t work, why do Americans continue to follow one fad diet after another? Chrzan and Cargill persuasively explain that it’s not because they promote weight loss or guarantee health, but because they make cultural sense and fulfill crucial psychological needs. -- Amy Bentley, author of
Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American DietThis enlightening and informative book explores not only how fad diets work but also why they are so wildly successful, as they provide templates for the expression of individual and social anxieties in contemporary American food culture and beyond. -- Fabio Parasecoli, author of
Gastronativism: Food, Identity, PoliticsA very helpful read for anyone who finds themselves stuck in the loop of fad diets. * What's Nonfiction *
A terrific book... Highly recommended. * Choice *
Chrzan and Cargill effectively use their conceptual apparatus to clearly demonstrate how diets capitalize on broad social anxieties. * Gastronomica *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Why We Love Fad Diets
2. Food Removal Diets
3. Food Addiction
4. Clean Eating
5. Paleo Diets
6. Final Thoughts
Notes
Bibliography
Index
