cover image Feeding on Dreams: Why America's Diet Industry Doesn't Work and What Will Work for You

Feeding on Dreams: Why America's Diet Industry Doesn't Work and What Will Work for You

Diane Epstein. MacMillan Publishing Company, $20 (264pp) ISBN 978-0-02-536191-1

In 1990, according to the authors, the diet industry enjoyed sales greater than those of Eastman Kodak and Xerox combined. That year, dieting Americans spent $33 billion on pills, powders, programs and books. As this book suggests, the advertising strategies employed by weight-loss programs sell hope, implying that if you ``follow the rules you will be rewarded with a perfect body and all the perks that come with it. Love. Respect. Sex. Success. Self-Esteem.'' Epstein, a psychologist in weight-control counseling, and writer Thompson are scathingly critical of the profit-driven weight-loss programs that litter the airwaves and yellow pages. They juxtapose the false promises made by each major program in the diet industry with the actual experiences of customers, showing, in the volume's first half, how and why these programs fail for so many. In the second half of the book, the authors explore the principles of what may work: take control and develop a lasting and healthful relationship with food and your body; make food a pleasure; trust your body. By offering a sane approach to weight loss, they tip the scales back in favor of the client. (May)