Obesity: The Biography

Obesity: The Biography PDF Author: Sander L. Gilman
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191614084
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
According to the World Health Organization we are in the midst of a global obesity crisis. Is obesity a disease itself or a symptom of underlying physiological or psychological illnesses? Is it a sign of social excess and therefore not a disease in the medical sense at all? Is it really 'new'? Sander L. Gilman, a leading authority in the social and cultural history of the body, presents a fascinating account of the history of obesity, looking at the changing attitudes towards the body, from regarding it as 'God's temple' to more mechanical and practical concerns from the Enlightenment onwards. In the eighteenth century obesity was understood as a problem of the affluent; today the affluent are more likely to have a personal trainer and a healthier diet, and it is the poorer classes who are more likely to be overweight. Gilman considers obesity in many contexts - including a chapter on obesity in China and the impact of modernization and Westernization on this very different culture. Taking the issue up to the present day, Gilman examines the wider political and social implications obesity raises, considering whether obesity should be cured by diet or surgery, by psychotherapy or economic improvement, by healthier food choices or by social relocation.

Childhood Obesity in America

Childhood Obesity in America PDF Author: Laura Dawes
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674281446
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Obesity among American children has reached epidemic proportions. Laura Dawes traces changes in diagnosis, treatment, and popular conceptions of the most serious health problem facing American children today, and makes the case that understanding the cultural history of a disease is critical to developing effective public health policy.

Obesity: The Biography

Obesity: The Biography PDF Author: Sander L. Gilman
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191614084
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
According to the World Health Organization we are in the midst of a global obesity crisis. Is obesity a disease itself or a symptom of underlying physiological or psychological illnesses? Is it a sign of social excess and therefore not a disease in the medical sense at all? Is it really 'new'? Sander L. Gilman, a leading authority in the social and cultural history of the body, presents a fascinating account of the history of obesity, looking at the changing attitudes towards the body, from regarding it as 'God's temple' to more mechanical and practical concerns from the Enlightenment onwards. In the eighteenth century obesity was understood as a problem of the affluent; today the affluent are more likely to have a personal trainer and a healthier diet, and it is the poorer classes who are more likely to be overweight. Gilman considers obesity in many contexts - including a chapter on obesity in China and the impact of modernization and Westernization on this very different culture. Taking the issue up to the present day, Gilman examines the wider political and social implications obesity raises, considering whether obesity should be cured by diet or surgery, by psychotherapy or economic improvement, by healthier food choices or by social relocation.

Obesity and Depression in the Enlightenment

Obesity and Depression in the Enlightenment PDF Author: Anita Guerrini
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806131597
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Medical doctor George Cheyne, little known today, was among the most quoted men in eighteenth-century Britain. A 450-pound behemoth renowned for his Falstaffian appetites, he nevertheless advocated moderation to his neurotic clientele. Cheyne was an early admirer of Isaac Newton and a writer on mathematics and natural philosophy, yet he also linked science and mysticism in his writings. This inventor of the all-lettuce diet was both an author of learned tomes and, to his patients, a fellow sufferer who struggled with obesity and depression. Scientist and mystic, patient and healer, libertine and scholar, Cheyne embodies the contradictions and obsessions of the Age of Enlightenment. Anita Guerrini reconstructs the ideas, events, and interconnections in Cheyne’s era and shows how Cheyne’s life and work uniquely epitomize the transition between premodern and modern culture.

International Textbook of Obesity

International Textbook of Obesity PDF Author: Per Björntorp
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN:
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
The prevalence of obesity has now reached such proportions that in many parts of the world it is one of the most dominant health problems. Obesity leads to a number of serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and cancer as well as psychological problems and a poor quality of life. Obesity research is now very active and understanding of the disease has greatly increased. The International Textbook of Obesity offers a definitive coverage of the area looking at epidemiology, causes, current research and management. * Gives an up to date account of the field * Edited by a leading expert in the area * Contributions from an impressive array of authors including many from young researchers giving new perspectives on the issues This will be a lasting reference for a wide range of academic and professional health care workers, including obesity research specialists, diebetologists, nutritionists, practising physicians and endocrinologists.

The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, 2010

The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, 2010 PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Health behavior
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned of the negative effects of the increasing weight of American citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. The Surgeon General plans to strengthen and expand this blueprint for action created by her predecessor. Although the country has made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high.

The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Surgery

The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Surgery PDF Author: Thomas Schlich
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349952605
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 579

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Book Description
This handbook covers the technical, social and cultural history of surgery. It reflects the state of the art and suggests directions for future research. It discusses what is different and specific about the history of surgery - a manual activity with a direct impact on the patient’s body. The individual entries in the handbook function as starting points for anyone who wants to obtain up-to-date information about an area in the history of surgery for purposes of research or for general orientation. Written by 26 experts from 6 countries, the chapters discuss the essential topics of the field (such as anaesthesia, wound infection, instruments, specialization), specific domains areas (for example, cancer surgery, transplants, animals, war), but also innovative themes (women, popular culture, nursing, clinical trials) and make connections to other areas of historical research (such as the history of emotions, art, architecture, colonial history). Chapters 16 and 18 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Childhood Obesity in America

Childhood Obesity in America PDF Author: Laura Dawes
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674369580
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
A century ago, a plump child was considered a healthy child. No longer. An overweight child is now known to be at risk for maladies ranging from asthma to cardiovascular disease, and obesity among American children has reached epidemic proportions. Childhood Obesity in America traces the changes in diagnosis and treatment, as well as popular understanding, of the most serious public health problem facing American children today. Excess weight was once thought to be something children outgrew, or even a safeguard against infectious disease. But by the mid-twentieth century, researchers recognized early obesity as an indicator of lifelong troubles. Debates about its causes and proper treatment multiplied. Over the century, fat children were injected with animal glands, psychoanalyzed, given amphetamines, and sent to fat camp. In recent decades, an emphasis on taking personal responsibility for one’s health, combined with commercial interests, has affected the way the public health establishment has responded to childhood obesity—and the stigma fat children face. At variance with this personal emphasis is the realization that societal factors, including fast food, unsafe neighborhoods, and marketing targeted at children, are strongly implicated in weight gain. Activists and the courts are the most recent players in the obesity epidemic’s biography. Today, obesity in this age group is seen as a complex condition, with metabolic, endocrine, genetic, psychological, and social elements. Laura Dawes makes a powerful case that understanding the cultural history of a disease is critical to developing effective health policy.

Medical History

Medical History PDF Author: Ian Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1352002728
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
This introductory textbook presents medical history as a theoretically rich discipline, one that constantly engages with major social questions about ethics, bodies, state power, disease, public health and mental disorder. Providing both instructors and students with an account of the changing nature of medical history research since it first emerged as a distinct discipline in 19th century Germany, this essential guide covers the theoretical development of medical history and evaluates the various approaches adopted by doctors, historians and sociologists. Synthesising historiographical material ranging from the 19th to 21st centuries, this is an ideal resource for postgraduate students from History and History of Medicine degrees taking courses on historiography, the theory of history and medical history.

Fighting Fat

Fighting Fat PDF Author: Wendy Mitchinson
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487522746
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
While the statistics for obesity have been alarming in the twenty-first century, concern about fatness has a history. In Fighting Fat, Wendy Mitchinson discusses the history of obesity and fatness from 1920 to 1980 in Canada. Through the context of body, medicine, weight measurement, food studies, fat studies, and the identity of those who were fat, Mitchinson examines the attitudes and practices of medical practitioners, nutritionists, educators, and those who see themselves as fat. Fighting Fat analyzes a number of sources to expose our culture's obsession with body image. Mitchinson looks at medical journals, both their articles and the advertisements for drugs for obesity, as well as magazine articles and advertisements, including popular "before and after" weight loss stories. Promotional advertisements reveal how the media encourages negative attitudes towards body fat. The book also includes over 30 interviews with Canadians who defined themselves as fat, highlighting the emotional toll caused by the stigmatizing of fatness.

Eating History

Eating History PDF Author: Andrew F. Smith
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231140928
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Prologue -- Oliver Evans's automated mill -- The Erie Canal -- Delmonico's -- Sylvester Graham's reforms -- Cyrus McCormick's reaper -- A multiethnic smorgasbord -- Giving thanks -- Gail Borden's canned milk -- The homogenizing war -- The transcontinental railroad -- Fair food -- Henry Crowell's Quaker special -- Wilbur O. Atwater's calorimeter -- The Cracker Jack snack -- Fannie Farmer's cookbook -- The Kelloggs' corn flakes -- Upton Sinclair's Jungle -- Frozen seafood and TV dinners -- Michael Cullen's super market -- Earle MacAusland's Gourmet -- Jerome I. Rodale's Organic gardening -- Percy Spencer's radar -- Frances Roth and Katharine Angell's CIA -- McDonald's drive-in -- Julia Child, the French chef -- Jean Nidetch's diet -- Alice Waters's Chez Panisse -- TVFN -- The Flavr Savr -- Mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs -- Epilogue.