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Gene Eating

The Science of Obesity and the Truth About Diets

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About this listen

Cambridge geneticist Dr Giles Yeo has dedicated over 20 years to studying how genes influence our eating habits. Instead of looking at how we have become obese, Gene Eating tackles the question of why some people eat more than others.

The UK has the biggest waistlines in Western Europe and an enormous problem of other diet-related illnesses. Our modern lifestyle, coupled with the food environment, has made weight loss the biggest public health quest of today; more of us than ever before are desperately bingeing on unreliable promises made online, on food labels or by the recent proliferation of food 'gurus' who are hungry for a slice of the multimillion-pound diet industry.

Written with his accessible, good-humoured style, Gene Eating unravels this hugely complex answer and argues that understanding our genes and the biology of our food intake is essential if we are to effectively tackle the obesity epidemic and improve our health. This pioneering book is a ray of light in our murky 'post-truth' climate - a celebration of evidence-based science that everyone can digest.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Giles Yeo (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group Diets, Nutrition & Healthy Eating Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Weight Loss & Weight Control Nutrition Healthy Diet Health

Critic reviews

Gene Eating is one of the clearest attempts I have come across to explain complicated science. It is an entertaining read, full of lively anecdotes and self-deprecating humour... It is hard to imagine a more likeable guide than Yeo, or a more level-headed one. But if he sometimes makes us laugh in this wise, sensible book, his message is deadly serious. (Christina Patterson)

[An] engaging and accessible book. (Caroline Sanderson)
A hard-to-fault book written in a way that entertains as well as it informs... Yeo's study of human appetite is packed with insights and revelations, incorporating up-to-date scientific thinking... It's an anti-diet diet book you can trust. (Garry Bushell)
All stars
Most relevant
This is an entertaining and interesting look at the numerous diets out there currently. Giles Yeo offers his advise on these and goes a long way to explaining the obesity epidemic. Essential reading for everyone. I think it should be a new subject taught at school/university.

Excellent, clear, un-biased information everyone should know.

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Dr. Giles Yeo has been very informative and I probably will have to listen again to get more out of it.
I want to quote this which is most meaningful to me :
"Obese people are not lazy or weak or morally bereft, they are most certainly not bad. They are fighting their genes, they are struggling against their biology. Until we, in society, understand that, until we are able to remove the stigma from being obese, we are never ever going to be able to fix the problem."

Dieting busted

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I’m a doctor with a passion for food, nutrition and the physiology of weight and obesity. I’ve read many, many “lay” books on weight and diet; this is by the far the best of them all. Not only is the science credible and robust, it’s a pleasure to listen to and so nice to have the author himself telling the story. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Enjoyable, credible, easy read; THE book on weight ever.

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the wonderful humour which also helped in drawing more interest and learning. Thank you Dr Giles Yeo

Clear scientific explanation and

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This is for you if you want to learn more about the scientific consensus and the underlying body of evidence behind some of the more popular 'diets'.

It is very accessible and he talks quite a bit about what he learnt while making some of his BBC shows and other articles. And the backlash he experienced afterward from some of the more strident diet followers (clean eating, plant based in particular). This bit is a bit moany maybe, but important to understand the silencing that can happen when people get zealous about their diet.

It also goes into detail about the dangers of orthorexia and disordered eating and anxiety that can be exacerbated by current instagram culture and the 'eat like me, look like me' messaging.

The information on the complex role genes and our current environment play in obesity is also very interesting, and is a good attempt to reduce the blame and taboo around obesity.

There is solid advice around eating healthily, particularly for weight loss. This is basically, healthy Mediterranean diet, everything in moderation, exercise to maintain weight loss in the long term, there are no quick fixes.

Overall interesting lesson from a likeable author, well narrated.

Accessible and interesting

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