Gone are the days when diet and fitness readers readily swallowed eating and exercise advice without wanting to know more about the science behind it. Recently, titles in the genre have appealed to consumers’ nerdy side, and this season’s books, which cover topics ranging from biology to exercise metrics to the psychology of eating, are no different.
Several books address age-old wellness topics—such as how to lose weight and how to look younger—with an added emphasis on the science behind them. The Prime: Prepare and Repair Your Body for Spontaneous Weight Loss by integrative neurologist Kulreet Chaudhary, with Eve Adamson (Harmony, Jan. 2016), blends insights from neurology and alternative medicine in the service of developing healthy cravings and habits.
Heather Jackson, v-p and executive editor at Harmony, says the book is less about willpower than about “neuroadaptation,” adding that Chaudhary’s scientific bona fides add to the book’s appeal. “If you look at the bestseller lists in recent years in the diet and health space, you’ll see that the books that have been the most sticky have generally been in the hands of people who are experts, with some real science gravitas.”
In a similar vein, The Change Your Biology Diet by Louis J. Aronne (HMH, Jan. 2016), who directs the Weight Control Center at Weill-Cornell Medical College, focuses on biological factors that contribute to weight gain. He posits the idea that “eating the wrong kinds of food”—such as processed and fatty foods—“damages neurons in the brain’s appetite center,” according to the publisher.
Fast Metabolism Food Rx by nutritionist Haylie Pomroy (Harmony, Feb. 2016) outlines a range of ailments, including lethargy and indigestion, in which metabolism plays a crucial role, enumerating the foods that can help address them. Pomroy is the author of The Fast Metabolism Diet (2013) and The Fast Metabolism Diet Cookbook (2014), which have sold more than 282,000 print units and more than 92,00 print units respectively, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Such attention to biological factors also informs books on aging. Bio-young: Getting Younger and Healthier at a Cellular and Hormonal Level by nutritionist Roxy Dillon (Atria, Feb. 2016) addresses the role of hormones in aging and identifies foods and supplements that purportedly slow the aging process.
The science-geek sensibility also shows up on the fitness shelf. Triathlon 2.0, by retired professional triathlete Jim Vance (Human Kinetics, Feb. 2016), offers an overview of the tools triathletes can use to improve their performance. These include “power meters, GPS systems, [and] heart-rate monitors,” according to the publisher.
Other titles use science to advocate approaches that may seem counterintuitive to some readers. Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently by David Ludwig (Grand Central, Jan. 2016), who teaches at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, sheds light on the role of fat cells in weight management and advises against calorie counting.
“People have a hard time wrapping their heads around it, because it’s so counterintuitive to what we’ve been taught,” says Sarah Pelz, executive editor at Grand Central. “People think it’s about willpower, but the truth is there’s a natural biological response happening in the body. Calorie restriction is a recipe for failure.”
Another book with an iconoclastic slant, Eat Dirt by natural-medicine practitioner Josh Axe (Harper Wave, Mar. 2016), focuses on what the author calls “leaky-gut syndrome.” Julie Will, executive editor at Harper Wave, explains that the disorder is “a condition in which the lining of our digestive tract becomes permeable and ‘leaks’ bacteria and toxins into the bloodstream,” causing inflammation and problems in the immune system.
Axe encourages readers to “ditch the hand sanitizers, reduce antibiotic use” and to “let their kids play in the dirt,” Will says, in the view that “over-sanitization is linked to the rise in autoimmune disorders.”
In First Bite: How We Learn to Eat (Basic, Dec.), food writer Bee Wilson (author of 2012’s Consider the Fork) examines the psychological, neurological, and cultural foundations of appetite, taste preference, and eating habits. Lara Heimert, v-p and publisher of Basic Books, says the book—which PW’s review called “smart and telling”—looks at “the crucial missing element in the story of food: the psychology of eating.”
While many titles in the diet and fitness category focus on “the ‘what’ of nutrition,” First Bite focuses on “the ‘how,’ ” Heimert says. “Whatever the components of a healthy diet, how do we make ourselves want to eat it? How can we change from eating an unhealthy diet to eating healthfully—as individuals, as families, as nations?”
