2023/06/23 Reference- “EAT FAT”

I spend two weeks finishing reading “Eat Fat”, a book written by Richard Klein. Overall, Klein explores the cultural and historical perspectives surrounding fat consumption in our diets. He challenges the traditional notion that fat is inherently bad for us and argues that it has been unfairly demonised in nutrition.

Klein delves into the science behind fat metabolism and discusses how our understanding of fats has evolved. He examines the social and psychological factors that have shaped our attitudes towards fat, including the influence of the diet industry and media. Through thought-provoking analysis and research, Klein presents a compelling case for the importance of fat in our diets. He highlights the role of fats in providing essential nutrients, supporting brain function, and contributing to overall health and well-being.

Two of the most attractive chapters for me are “Introduction” (Pages 3-69) and “The Nature of Fat”(Pages 147-196).

Introduction

In “Introduction”, Richard Klein spends a lot of words explaining his opinion about the journey of fat becoming evil in our bodies. There was a passage that caught my attention:

Whereas anorexic men are increasingly being diagnosed and described, the preponderance of eating disorders is found in women. Many of those women are obeying their parents’ explicit orders or implicit wishes in a form of ironic revolt. defying their wishes, they fulfil them beyond their wildest dreams to the last literal letter of the law. So you want me to be thin, I’ll show you thin. The anorexic is a good girl, who does exactly what her parents wish, but in spades- to the death.

Richard Klein/ Eat Fat page 37

His opinion makes me realise that the common characteristic among individuals with eating disorders is excessive concern about others’ opinions, to the extent that they are willing to go to great lengths (such as extreme dieting) to meet others’ standards and gain a sense of approval. These others may include parents, colleagues, and other members of society. Because they were held hostage by some misguided values (unrealistically thin beauty standards) from a young age. Thus individuals with eating disorders do have confidence in themself.

Richard Klein lists three, widely acknowledge and generally understood as follows.

1. Fat is ugly. Our commitment to a certain slim ideal of human beauty is only about a century old, but it has already become second nature. It has come to seem perfectly natural to hate fat. Even the thin among us dream of dropping five or ten pounds. Losing weight, we imagine, will make us more sexy, productive, and rich. But it’s not just the commercial interest and social value we derive from our investment in thin in a world where fat girls struggle and skinny ones model. Above all, it’s our stake in an idea of beauty that compels us to want to be thin and to encourage others for example, our children- as well. In our eyes in our mind’s eve-we love the look of thin. Fat disgusts.
2. Fat is unhealthy. The medical-nutrition-insurance-beauty industry has for some time promoted the notion that fat kills, that the more drastically we limit it in our food and on our bodies, the more we increase our chances of longevity. Fat poisons.
3. Fat weighs us down, slows us up. Our progressive need for greater energy and a desire to step more lightly upon the earth seem at odds with fat. Many of those who have writ-ten about the history of fat in the twentieth century have seen the connection between the dream of thinness and the mod-er desire for greater agility, flexibility, and speed. Energy is the principal gain, it is supposed, from being thin, some kinetic enhancement that makes us more vital, more excited, more suited in our bodies for the exhilarations inspired by the modern pleasures of machine speed. This conviction persists despite the evidence, irrefutably accumulated in repeated studies, that fat people are sexier: they want more sex more often than thin people.

“Eat Fat”, published in 1997, describes a toxic diet phenomenon in American society. It was 26 years ago. Does the over-diet phenomenon disappear? Yes, it still exists. Young girls still keep judging their own bodies. And the dream figures become Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid. People chase fashion icons or influential people. Meanwhile, a Chinese woman can be seen as a “Chinese Kim Kardashian” in China. Her name is Mengling Yi.

I don’t intend to compare the beauty standards of two countries; I simply want to clarify that, whether in Western or Chinese culture, people often desire an ideal body shape with graceful curves and slender legs. This is not inherently negative, but some women may excessively pursue this physique, overlooking their own health in the process.

Aesthetic standards have evolved over time, reflecting the changing trends of each era. The book’s chapter ‘Fat Beauty’ (Pages 111-146) explores how ancient Western societies once admired curvaceous Greek women but later, with the rise of Christianity, were drawn to slender Gothic actresses. From then on, aesthetic preferences transformed in response to societal demands, leading to today’s modern standards.

Similarly, in China, influenced by its early matriarchal society, the initial aesthetic standard favoured robust women. However, as patriarchal values gained prominence, the ideal shifted towards delicate, slender females. Nevertheless, witnessing a growing awareness among women worldwide is heartening, leading to the diversification of beauty ideals.

The Nature of Fat

In this chapter, Richard Klein starts with the negative impact of over-diet. Surround with this topic. He introduced the development of diet “medicine” in the US market during 20 century 90th and the so-called healthy food trap. This series of phenomena exposes the hidden class gap and the market economy’s rules behind them. Reading through the chapter, I understand the prevalence of dieting was closely linked to the marketing and economic interests of the time.