Fat History: Bodies and Beauty in the Modern West

In the realm of books on America's obsession with fat, Stearns's new hypothesis is a refreshing counter to the current denunciations of the patriarchy with a broader sociological and historical approach. The author's measured, scholarly tone can be a bit dry, however. Drawing from magazine articles, advertisements and doctors' recommendations, Stearns (a history professor and dean at Carnegie Mellon University) attempts to explain why, while dieting less than Americans, the French have more success keeping their weight down. He attributes the disparity to the equating of thinness with moral rectitude in the United States, where increasing indulgence in other areas (such as sex and consumerism) has left the population with a guilt complex and a penchant for snacking. By contrast, the French aesthetic approach treats food as a culinary art, to be taken in small amounts and enjoyed for its subtle flavor: ""France had no equivalents of rural Americana's pie-eating contests."" While his argument is interesting, readers may wonder why Stearns does not adequately address the American perception that French thinness is the consequence of too much caffeine and nicotine. Nor does he compare the occurrence of eating disorders in the two nations, a test with real potential for bolstering his assertion that Americans view ""diet more as combat than a matter of simple restraint."" Illustrated. (June)