What's Eating Us

January 13, 2023

Eating disorders are not discussed or studied enough, and when they are, it's often in incomplete or damaging ways, posits four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist Kadzin. This book is both a memoir and a study of how disordered eating has become both normalized and encouraged in American culture. The author focuses on the immensely damaging effects of stress on the human body and the connections between weight loss companies and disordered eating patterns. Her insightful discussions with researchers emphasize areas of eating disorders that are typically ignored, encouraging readers to think about aspects of disordered eating and diet culture they may not have considered. The author also takes care to cite sources from groups or individuals that have no connection to the weight-loss industry, so readers can be confident that they are getting unbiased advice. VERDICT This work will appeal to readers who enjoy memoirs and general nonfiction, but Kadzin's conversational tone and writing style make this book accessible to all readers.--Heather Sheahan

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Starred review from November 1, 2022
Eating disorders are a massive yet often hidden problem, writes the author, who speaks with the insight of experience. Early on, Kazdin, a four-time Emmy Award-winning TV journalist, cites some remarkable, frightening statistics. "Over 90 percent of women in the United States are dissatisfied with their bodies," she writes, and nearly 30 million people "suffer from an eating disorder." Furthermore, eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of any mental illness, on a par with opioid deaths, and the problem crosses socio-economic lines. Kazdin has struggled with a disorder herself, and her book is as much her personal story as an examination of body anxiety. The author discusses how diet and weight-loss businesses are rebranding themselves as being about good health, a misleading ploy to continue to grow an industry approaching a valuation of $300 billion. "Weight stigma is deeply embedded into our culture," she writes. The idea that thinness equals personal worth and social success is everywhere. Kazdin examines the wide range of diets on the market and concludes that they simply do not work. Some will lead to temporary weight loss, but it always comes back. The author's own obsessive drive to be thin involved starvation-level diets, punishing exercise routines, and, ultimately, self-induced vomiting. All this made her feel in control--at least until the larger health consequences began to appear. Through therapy and support, she managed to build something like a normal life, but she wonders if she will ever completely recover. "My eating disorder never left," she writes. "It's always there, lying in wait like a trained assassin." The author also describes new research suggesting that eating disorders may stem from physical problems in the brain rather than from behavioral issues, which would fundamentally change treatment options. The real solution, she writes, is to get past the social pressure and achieve self-acceptance. Kazdin's painful honesty is leavened with humor and irony. Hopefully, this book will reach the people who need it.

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