The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You

by Sylvia Tara PhD

Overview

This groundbreaking work of practical, popular science reveals that fat is much smarter than we think.

Fat is an obsession, a dirty word, a subject of national handwringing—and, according to biochemist Sylvia Tara, the least-understood part of our body.

You may not love your fat, but your body certainly does. In fact, your body is actually endowed with many self-defense measures to hold on to fat. For example, fat can use stem cells to regenerate; increase our appetite if it feels threatened; and use bacteria, genetics, and viruses to expand itself. The secret to losing twenty pounds? You have to work with your fat, not against it. Tara explains how your fat influences your appetite and willpower, how it defends itself when attacked, and why it grows back so quickly. The Secret Life of Fat brings cutting-edge research together with historical perspectives to reveal fat’s true identity: an endocrine organ that, in the right amount, is critical to our health. Fat triggers puberty, enables our reproductive and immune systems, and even affects brain size.

Although we spend $60 billion annually fighting fat, our efforts are often misinformed and misdirected. Tara expertly illustrates the complex role that genetics, hormones, diet, exercise, and history play in our weight, and The Secret Life of Fat sets you on the path to beat the bulge once and for all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393244830
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/27/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sylvia Tara holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Tara was a consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked at the world’s largest biotechnology companies. She lives in the Los Angeles area.

Table of Contents

Prologue Skinny Jeans ix

Introduction-Our Changing Views of Fat 1

I All About Fat

1 The Foundation: Fat Does More Than You Think 11

2 Fat Can Talk 26

3 Your Life Depends on Fat 46

4 When Good Fat Goes Bad 63

5 How Fat Fights to Stay on You 78

II It Is Not Only Food That Makes Us Fat

6 Bacteria and Viruses-Microscopic in Size, Giant in Effect 97

7 I Blame My Parents-Genes in Obesity 121

8 I Am Woman, I Have Fat 132

9 Fat Can Listen 146

III So What Is the Solution?

10 Fat Control I: How You Can Do It 165

11 Mind over Fat 179

12 Fat Control II: How I Do It 191

13 The Future of Fat 202

Acknowledgments 209

Bibliography and References 211

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2016
Finally, a book that sheds some light on understanding body fat—specifically, its role, why it is so difficult to fight, and how it works differently for different people. This debut book by biochemist Tara takes a hot topic and explores every avenue regarding the causes of obesity: genetics, microbes, lifestyle, race, gender, and so on. Although an incredible $60 billion was spent in the U.S. in 2014 battling fat, Tara posits that fat is actually a critical organ with an essential role to play in the endocrine system. She frankly describes her own struggles with weight, which led her to realize “we are not all created equal, at least when it comes to fat.” Peppered with individual case studies, the book meticulously explains why fat isn’t “one size fits all,” particularly in terms of dieting. Tara recommends persistence as the main tool for dieters, combined with a diet “customized for you biologically, psychologically, and socially.” This genuinely enlightening book will be a revelation to those engulfed in self-blame and shame about their weight. Hopefully, individualized weight loss will become the way of the future, leading to effective new treatments for those desperately seeking them. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"You can outsmart your body fat, but first you must understand it! With the right lifestyle, eating, and exercise approach you can lose weight and keep it off. Learn how in this engaging and informative masterpiece."

Michael Dansinger

"A useful primer on the biology of fat…. Illuminating."

The New Yorker - Jerome Groopman

"A refreshing change to the conflicting advice and opinions about food that we are subjected to every day."

Chemistry World - Philippa Matthews

"For years we presumed that body fat is just a depot for energy, but current science is proving that it is actually the largest endocrine gland in our body. This enigmatic organ conveys many paradoxes and surprises; depending on its location, color and genetic makeup it might be either dangerous or protective. Sylvia Tara dove deeply in science of fat and adeptly explains it all in this fascinating book."

Osama Hamdy

"Dr. Sylvia Tara addresses important concepts related to the development, prevention, and treatment of obesity. This book will be a very interesting read for lay people interested in fat and obesity, as well as for many in the scientific community—I really enjoyed reading it!"

Carl Lavie

"Biochemist Tara gives readers the skinny on fat in a lively discussion that incorporates sumo wrestlers, a bloated diet industry, [and] genetics… Readers will discover that, regardless of body size and shape, fat does some heavy work on our behalf."

Booklist - Tony Miksanek

"Like comfort food for anyone carrying around a lifetime of guilt for eating an extra cookie."

Hadassah Magazine - Carol Saline

"Body fat is so much more than a passive calorie storage depot, as Sylvia Tara brilliantly shows. Read The Secret Life of Fat to make friends with this misunderstood and critically important organ."

David S. Ludwig

"Powerful… [Tara’s] research and insight is deeply perspective-shifting."

Foreword - Melissa Wuske

07/01/2016
Though we fight fat furiously (to the tune of $60 billion a year in this country alone), it's essential to our well-being. It affects brain size, supports our reproductive and immune systems, and is so important to the body's self-defense that fat can grow back no matter what we eat. Biochemist Tara in fact identifies fat as an endocrine organ and here argues that knowing how it functions will go a long way toward keeping us healthy.

Library Journal

2016-10-05
Americans spend more money on the war against fat than the war against terror. As Tara writes, “we are indeed a nation at war with a body part.”After the birth of her second child, the author, who has a doctorate in biochemistry and has served as a consultant for major biotech companies, struggled to hold her weight in check with a combination of diet and exercise in order to pass what she describes as the “skinny jeans” test. From her adolescence, dieting and exercise had become an obsession but not a solution, and Tara was on a roller coaster, losing extra pounds on a starvation diet and then gaining them back just by eating dinner. Her professional training fueled her determination to find out why she gained weight while her friends, who ate more and exercised less, remained thin. Examining a variety of scientific studies, she made a surprising discovery. Experiments revealed what she calls “the obesity paradox,” which showed how fat plays an important part in maintaining our overall health. While obesity is a contributing factor to heart disease, the survival rate after heart failure is better for people with “a higher body mass index and higher fat.” Tara also discovered new reports suggesting the possibility that obesity is the result of a viral infection. Ongoing research has identified people with an antibody to the virus who gained significantly greater body mass over a 10-year period. Researchers have also found that fat stores stem cells, which play a vital role in replacing bone, muscle, and cartilage in the body. For Tara, this provides a convincing explanation of why there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of maintaining a healthy weight. The author ably combines an accessible explanation of how the body’s metabolism works with a clear survey of the latest research on obesity. A book that should have wide appeal, not only to those fighting the battle of the bulge.

Kirkus Reviews

Like comfort food for anyone carrying around a lifetime of guilt for eating an extra cookie.

Hadassah