cover image Great Shape: The First Exercise Guide for Large Women

Great Shape: The First Exercise Guide for Large Women

Pat Lyons. Arbor House Publishing, $22.95 (196pp) ISBN 978-0-87795-943-4

Espousing the philosophy that ""fat and fit are not mutually exclusive,'' the authors offer welcome encouragement to their fellow large women who also believe themselves to be victims of ``fat-hating attitudes.'' ``The pleasures, benefits, challenges, and full-out exuberant fun of dance, sport, and movement are the birthrights of all people, not just the already athletic and fit,'' maintain Lyons, a nurse, and Burgard, a dance instructor. Proponents of the ``setpoint'' theory, they claim that metabolism and heredity have more bearing on size than caloric intake and expenditure. Although healthful eating is advanced, dieting per se is deemphasized, and the low-impact aerobic exercises, here illustrated, are put forth as an adult form of ``recess.'' Some advice has wider application and will appeal to anyone battling the ``couch-potato'' and ``no time, no money'' syndromes, fear of failure or injury, or the still-extant problems of competing in games traditionally considered ``male only.'' (February 26)