Diabesity

February 14, 2005
Kaufman explains the severity of the obesity/diabetes epidemic this way: "our ancient genes and our modern environment have collided," and so many adults and children are now being diagnosed with the disease that it "imperils human existence as we now know it." The author, who recently served as president of the American Diabetes Association and was instrumental in banning the sale of soda in Los Angeles schools, notes that the sharp increase in the number of diabetics in the U.S. mirrors the increased incidence of obesity (hence the word "diabesity," first used by health journalists in the late 1990s). Her first-rate, important book discusses the diagnosis of diabetes and its subsequent sequelae, the world history of both diabetes and obesity, and, most importantly, what must be done to fix the problem. Not so much a how-to for patients as a call to arms for policy makers and those in the health-care industry, the book intersperses riveting case studies that serve to accentuate the importance of "creating a new normal" mode of behavior in American culture—one that includes eating intelligently and exercising diligently. Kaufman has taken on a difficult topic, but her text is easy to understand and will be useful to many. Agent, Adam Chromy.

July 1, 2004
Past president of the American Diabetes Association, Kaufman limns the connection between obesity in children and the development of diabetes.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2005
Using figures demonstrating increased incidence of diabetes in the last decade, pediatric endocrinologist and former American Diabetes Association president Kaufman does the math and predicts that, unless drastic measures are taken, by 2020 there will have been a 72 percent increase in the number of diabetics in America. Thus she lays the groundwork for a serious attack on what she defines as the root of the problem, obesity. She relays incidents from her family's history--one of her grandmothers was a Type II diabetic--along with a wealth of information about the causes, signs, symptoms, and treatment of both types of diabetes. She briefly outlines the natural history of human biology that has eventuated in conditions perfect for obesity, and she explores the many pleasures of highly industrialized societies that encourage and exacerbate it. Laying blame on no single perp--though she takes the fast-food industry to task--Kaufman proposes a multipronged approach to heading off what she feels certain will become a public-health disaster.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)