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In a study of formerly obese people, researchers at the University of Florida found that virtually all said that they would rather be blind, deaf or have a leg amputated than be obese again. (ref 1) That is the extent of our desire to be slim and yet two thirds of people in the UK, USA and Australia are overweight and one quarter obese. Why?<\/p>\n
To be slim, to achieve the thing we want more than our sight, hearing, or mobility, we are told that we just need to \u201ceat less and\/or do more.\u201d Quite specifically, the advice is \u201cOne pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so to lose 1lb a week you need a deficit of 500 calories a day.\u201d (ref 2)<\/p>\n
So, why don\u2019t we just follow the advice? Why on earth do we have an obesity problem, let alone an epidemic, when we so desperately want to be slim?<\/p>\n
Dr Zo\u00eb Harcombe, PhD <\/strong>set out to answer that question in the late 1980s and the paradox of escalating obesity and overwhelming desire to be slim, has been a constant fascination ever since. At the time of starting her research, obesity levels for men and women in the UK had reached double figures. By the end of the millennium, UK obesity rates were 22.6% and 25.8% for men and women respectively and have worsened further since. (ref 3)<\/p>\n Zo\u00eb was the first person from her state school to graduate from Cambridge University, having won a scholarship to read mathematics\/economics at this famous institution.<\/p>\n Zo\u00eb’s first book asked and answered the ‘million dollar’ question from the perspective of an individual. Why do you overeat? When all you want is to be slim<\/em> was published in 2004 and then completely revised in 2013. This book still elicits the most wonderful comments from people who read it and finally understand where they’ve been going wrong.<\/p>\n Following the success of Why do you overeat<\/em>?, Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight<\/em> was published in 2008, to share the real food message as simply and passionately as possible with a growing number of followers. A recipe book came out at the same time. Zo\u00eb has also appeared on TV and Radio and writes regularly for magazines and newspapers. (Media features can be seen here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Zo\u00eb has a PhD in public health nutrition. The full title of her thesis is: “An examination of the randomised controlled trial and epidemiological evidence for the introduction of dietary fat recommendations in 1977 and 1983: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis<\/em>“. Zo\u00eb researches in the fields of nutrition, diet, dietary advice, diet-related health and obesity and reads, writes and talks about these subjects as many hours as possible, seven days a week. Her goal and drive is to reverse the obesity epidemic. She has clear views on how it started and what we need to do to stop it and these were published in 2010 in the 134,000 word book: The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it<\/em>?<\/a><\/p>\n Ref 1: Colleen S.W. Rand and Alex M. C. Macgregor, \u201cSuccessful weight loss following obesity surgery and the perceived liability of morbid obesity\u201d, International Journal of Obesity, (1991).<\/p>\n Ref 2: British Dietetic Association\u2019s leaflet \u201cWant to lose weight & keep it off\u2026?\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n