Why am I passionate about this?

Having studied diet and behavior for forty years, I realized that I had ignored obesity. However, after eventually considering the topic, I found that the actions of both politicians and the food industry had been spectacularly unhelpful. Why are so many people allowed to suffer? If politicians and the food industry are ineffective, there is a third group that could engineer change: the general public. It is scandalous that so many have been condemned to an early death following decades of ill-health. Something needs to change.


I wrote

Tackling the Obesity Crisis: Beyond Failed Approaches to Lasting Solutions

By David Benton,

Book cover of Tackling the Obesity Crisis: Beyond Failed Approaches to Lasting Solutions

What is my book about?

Why have government initiatives repeatedly failed to control obesity, and why are most people unable to control their weight? I…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Why Calories Don't Count: How We Got the Science of Weight Loss Wrong

David Benton Why did I love this book?

I like a book that challenges received wisdom. A book that forces you to question your basic beliefs and see the world differently. In the event, this book was particularly satisfying as some of my developing ideas were along similar lines.  

The view that to lose weight, all you need to do is consume fewer calories is questioned. As such, the book offers a perspective different from the one usually taken. As many people fail to control their weight even when they diet, I find interesting any new perspective that attempts to explain the failure to control weight. As attempts to control weight often fail, I am interested in any novel perspective that may prove to be more successful.

By Giles Yeo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Why Calories Don't Count as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'In this great read, Giles Yeo ruthlessly and amusingly destroys the calorie as our most persistent diet myth.' Tim Spector, author of Spoon-Fed and The Diet Myth

'A tour de force by the wise and witty Professor Giles Yeo. As well as being one of the UK's foremost experts on the genetics of obesity, Professor Yeo knows how to tell a great story. After reading this brilliant book you will understand what the labels on food really tell us, and what they don't.' Michael Mosley, author of The Fast 800

'Giles Yeo knows that when it comes to motivating us…


Book cover of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal

David Benton Why did I love this book?

I learned how much food is wasted while so many people are hungry: in the USA, half of all food is wasted, and in the United Kingdom, 20 million tonnes of food are thrown out each year. Yet I also gained an implicit and unintended message: we need more than a good idea. I became certain that, although we need to understand the situation and have a plan, in industrialized countries, most dietary problems reflect a human reluctance to change behavior.  

It became clear to me that we need to factor in human behavior and offer more than good advice. Good ideas are often stymied by the reluctance of humans to change what they eat. For me, the unintended takeaway message was that the failure of attempts to encourage healthy eating, to a large extent, reflects paying too much attention to food. Rather, you need to concentrate on people as they choose what they eat.

By Tristram Stuart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Waste as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With shortages, volatile prices and nearly one billion people hungry, the world has a food problem-or thinks it does. Farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers in North America and Europe discard up to half of their food-enough to feed all the world's hungry at least three times over. Forests are destroyed and nearly one tenth of the West's greenhouse gas emissions are released growing food that will never be eaten. While affluent nations throw away food through neglect, in the developing world crops rot because farmers lack the means to process, store and transport them to market.

But there could be…


Book cover of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

David Benton Why did I love this book?

I love it when the small Guy or Gal lands a punch on the rich and powerful. This book does just that and lands punch after punch. The book exposes how, behind the scenes, both the food industry and politicians have acted to dilute dietary advice. The result has been the marketing of unhealthy food, often to children whose immature brains are unable to understand what is happening.  

The book gave me great insight into the politics and shenanigans associated with food. It taught me that economics and politics, not science, health, ethics, or common sense, are important. You learn that you cannot always trust what you see and hear.

By Marion Nestle,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Food Politics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States - enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over - has a downside. Our over-efficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more - more food, more often, and in larger portions - no matter what it does to waistlines or well-being. Like…


Book cover of Eat This!: How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and How to Fight Back)

David Benton Why did I love this book?

Very often, the study of obesity amounts to little more than stating the cause of obesity. Vague and uninformative statements are made, such as we eat too much, and exercise too little. Although true, this has little use unless you can persuade people to change their behavior. Therefore, the book recommended has one great attraction: it suggests something useful that can be done.

It is a short book aimed at children that attempts to reduce the impact of advertising. Children are introduced to the latest marketing strategies. They are taught ways they can push back, allowing them to take control of their diet and health. Food literacy is acquired. 

By Andrea Curtis, Peggy Collins (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eat This! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Eat This! examines how fast food marketing gets you to buy junk and how you can fight back. It shows how marketers embed sales pitches in media to lure consumers to foods that can negatively impact the health of children. The author explains what advertising is, discusses product placement and other tools used to sell products. Curtis provides careful insights into the fast food industry and ways in which young people can push back.

"Kids need to know the truth about junk food, and understand the millions of ways it's pushed on them -- every day. Andrea's fun and accessible…


Book cover of The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat

David Benton Why did I love this book?

There is a saying, “ For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.” This view summarizes almost all attempts to control obesity. There has been a failure to acknowledge the multitude of risk factors for obesity and the large number of calories that need to be removed from the diet before obesity is beaten.   

I am, therefore, always delighted when simple views concerning obesity are shown to be mistaken. A fascinating book describes how bacteria in the gut influence the tendency to be slim or obese. You learn that if you eat the right food, you will have 100 trillion friends to help you stay slim.

By Tim Spector,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Diet Myth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The Diet Myth is fascinating, and now I'm obsessed with microbes!' Nigella Lawson

Why do most diets fail? Why does one person eat a certain meal and gain weight, while another eating the same meal loses pounds? Why, despite all the advice about what to eat, are we all still getting fatter?

The answers are much more surprising - and fascinating - than we've been led to believe. The key to health and weight loss lies not in the latest fad diet, nor even in the simple mantra of 'eat less, exercise more', but in the microbes already inside us.…


Explore my book 😀

Tackling the Obesity Crisis: Beyond Failed Approaches to Lasting Solutions

By David Benton,

Book cover of Tackling the Obesity Crisis: Beyond Failed Approaches to Lasting Solutions

What is my book about?

Why have government initiatives repeatedly failed to control obesity, and why are most people unable to control their weight? Introducing low-fat foods and eliminating sugar from the diet have been associated with increases rather than decreases in obesity. Banning advertising to children has failed to have a positive influence. Dieting usually fails as the body is programmed to regain lost weight.

What, then, can be done? Address poverty, as it is a major cause of obesity. Examine diet in the first years of life as it influences your weight when adult. Without developing low-calorie foods, little will be achieved. As all health policies depend on individuals changing their behavior, this is where attention should be directed. The individual will learn how best to control their weight.

Book cover of Why Calories Don't Count: How We Got the Science of Weight Loss Wrong
Book cover of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal
Book cover of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health

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Steamed and Steamy: Recipes from the Steampunk World of Industralia

By Lori Alden Holuta, Tanya Paterson (illustrator),

Book cover of Steamed and Steamy: Recipes from the Steampunk World of Industralia

Lori Alden Holuta Author Of The Flight to Brassbright

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Word addict Earth mama Avant garde crocheter Steampunk Expat Seattleite

Lori's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

After writing The Flight To Brassbright, I realized that my characters spent a lot of time enjoying a wide variety of foods and beverages. I suppose it couldn't be helped since their author is such a foodie.

I thought it would be fun to spin off a cookbook with real, practical recipes so that readers could enjoy the same foods as my wacky cast did on their adventures. There's something for everyone, as the cookbook runs the gamut. You'll find mouth-watering treats such as hearty meat pies, 'coal' cookies, Victorian-era 'hot dogs', bread and butter pickles, and home-spun cotton…

Steamed and Steamy: Recipes from the Steampunk World of Industralia

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What is this book about?

Even fictional characters gotta eat. These are their recipes. Now you can make the favorite foods of the fictional country of Industralia, from breakfast right on through to late night snacks. You’ll even learn how to make traditional New Year's “Coal Week” holiday treats.

"Ah, the delightful sounds and smells of cooking. And explosions. Or maybe that is just my kitchen... Venture forth into the wilds of your own kitchen to explore the possibilities for flavor and ingredients you encountered in your explorations of Industralia! From carnival peanuts and cotton candy to some hearty meat pies these recipes can help…


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