Fat: A Cultural History of Obesity
by Sander L Gilman
Polity, £14.99
ASTUTE Tribune readers will remember that I recently reviewed Susie Orbach’s Bodies (Tribune, February 13). As I am now focusing on another book linked with obesity – here, Fat: A Cultural History of Obesity by Sander L Gilman – you may well be wondering whether I am Tribune’s very own fatso. Don’t. I am merely keen to keep an eye on the scales as I have a few pounds to lose and, as such, need to avoid the chocolate cupboard as otherwise I will become part of the obese which fascinates Sander Gilman.
In his splendid and timely book, the Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta provides a terrific assessment of the cultural history of obesity.
At the outset he states: “Fat, however, is truly in the eye of the beholder. Each age, culture and tradition has defined acceptable weight for itself, and yet all have a point beyond which excess weight is unacceptable, unhealthy, ugly or corrupting.” He adds: “Obesity is a national rather than an individual problem and that, not only because of epidemiological evidence, but also because of the meanings now firmly attached to an expansive waistline.”
In examining the “obesity epidemic” – or “globesity” – in which we find ourselves he argues that it is the “social implications of obesity that have now turned it into an epidemic.” Interestingly, as part of this argument he examines a range of factors including SARS and avian influenza. In his conclusion he contends that industrial development has put a stop to healthy eating, causing obesity as a national illness instead of an individual problem, and argues that “maybe at the end of the day our desire to control and reform our bodies is what is truly ‘modern’ and the obesity epidemic is only proof of our desire to undertake this quixotic task of absolute bodily control.”
Gilman’s knowledge base is certainly multi-layered, encompassing a rich array of historic, scientific, psychological, ethnicity and cultural references to the issues surrounding ‘fat’. And as a Jew who has often defined herself by devouring foods common to her culture I was particularly interested in his extensive discourse on “diabetes as the Jewish disease”.
He draws attention to numerous quotes and references to obesity in literature, and his lengthy assessment of the portrayal of the “stupid fat man” found in Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers is particularly illuminating.
Gilman’s work is absorbing and witty. It is addictive to read his critical observations on areas including childhood obesity, the growth of obesity in modern China and media coverage of the topic. And this, er, slim book will certainly appeal to all of us who want to understand a little more about the cultural and historical aspects and attitudes to obesity.
Sharon Garfinkel
