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Minnesota Obesity Center, VA Medical Center (151), 1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, allenl{at}tc.umn.edu
Claude Bouchard has assembled a superb group of authorities on exercise and obesity, each of whom has written a compact chapter in his or her area of expertise. Physical Activity and Obesity is not intended to be a complete compendium, but rather a medium-sized book useful to a broad audience, including exercise physiologists, obesity specialists, sports nutritionists, sports medicine specialists, and fitness specialists. This volume contains a good deal of background about obesity, including 4 chapters on the obesity epidemic and 6 chapters on biological and behavioral determinants of obesity. The remaining 9 chapters address physical activity in the prevention or treatment of obesity and as a part of maintaining health in the obese state.
The book begins with an excellent review of the current obesity epidemic, including a discussion of the differences between overweight and obesity, the etiology of these physical states, and a prediction of a "gloomy future" related to dealing with this epidemic. Useful tables present information on the prevalence of obesity, the classification of obesity, the distribution of obesity by sex, large-waist-circumference data by country, and other data. There are also excellent reviews of the risks and monetary costs associated with obesity. The next 140 pages discuss determinants of obesity, the methods of quantifying energy expenditure and intake in humans, a summary of the components of the energy balance equation, and the role of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in obesity.
The remainder of the book addresses the relation between physical activity and the prevention of obesity or the maintenance of a reasonable body mass index and the concept that obese individuals can be fit. These issues are discussed throughout the life cycle, with a chapter dedicated to children and adolescents, adults, the elderly, and pregnant women. Whether exercise is helpful in the morbidly obese and how clinicians might prescribe activity in such physically disabled individuals are discussed. The psychological benefits of exercise in weight maintenance are also reviewed.
Although Physical Activity and Obesity is targeted to professionals working in the field of activity and obesity, it also provides an up-to-date summary of this field for students. The number of books available to students and teachers in this somewhat specialized area of medical science is limited. Many of the chapters provide excellent reviews for clinicians focusing on weight loss. The text also includes many attractive summary figures as well as tables containing data concerning virtually every aspect of obesity and physical activity. The book is easy to read and well organized. Although some of the information is repetitive, most of the presentations integrate well with the other chapters. I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it as a reference text for all clinical nutritionists and kinesiologists.