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Pediatric Endocrinology, UC Davis Medical Center, 2516 Stockton Boulevard, Ticon II, Sacramento, CA 95817, E-mail: dmstyne{at}ucdavis.edu
The title of this volume does not do justice to the rich store of information within; the text contains quite a bit that does not directly relate to the treatment of obesity. Rather, the work is filled with numerous chapters that constitute state-of-the-art reviews of the most important concepts in the field. These include the environmental etiology and the physiology and genetics of obesity, the consequences of obesity, and several insightful discussions of prevention and the political and public health aspects of obesity. Obesity treatment is handled in detail, and the information can be used both in a primary care environment and in a referral practice.
The editors gathered many of the established luminaries working in the broad fields of obesity research and clinical care. The editors and the chapter authors have a record of long-established investigation and dispense their considerable wisdom succinctly. In the first section, the reader will develop an up-to-date understanding of the scope of the problem, the genetic and physiologic causes and effects of obesity, the psychological basis of obesity, and the environmental influences that have fostered this epidemic in a susceptible population. A consideration of the psychological and medical benefits of weight loss and of those areas in which weight loss has no effect follows. The last portion of the book considers the development of obesity in childhood and adolescence and how such early onset affects adults.
Approximately one-half of the volume addresses the evaluation and treatment of obese adults, with a shorter but excellent summary of the treatment of children and adolescents. The adult section is comprehensive and discusses the physiologic, medical, and surgical treatment of obesity, with specific focuses on obesity in minorities, maintenance of weight loss, and innovative approaches to treatment. Clinicians can copy the helpful data collection sheets for patients’ records. Commercial treatment programs are addressed and critically compared. The treatment of obesity is universally known to be difficult, but the information provided and the resources to which the reader is directed give a strong basis for the establishment of a treatment program in the office or in the community.
Perhaps most impressive is the critical treatment of the issues addressed: outmoded concepts are identified, and controversies, if not resolved, are well discussed. Although a volume of some 600 pages cannot contain an encyclopedic treatment of such a complicated subject, the detail of the chapters will satisfy most readers. This book is directed to clinicians and clinical investigators who want a comprehensive source for use in improving or establishing an obesity treatment program or who wish to assist patients already involved in such a program. Although the volume is not meant to address the technical issues of research to a degree that would allow the reader to set up a laboratory study, it is of great value to any investigator wanting a substantial overview of all aspects of obesity, including environmental, psychological, and physiologic issues.
Finally, policymakers who wish to make an impact on this epidemic would be well advised to consult this book. Most will agree that it is in the arenas of public health and social issues where meaningful progress can be made to control this problem that has become so prevalent in all sectors of the population.