The Fats of Life

  • Caroline M. Pond
Cambridge University Press: 1998. 328pp. £35, $59.95(hbk); £12.95, $19.95, (pbk)

Is fat friend or foe? This question has vexed people for an age, but in recent times has been somewhat forgotten, with fat firmly ensconced as villain. In The Fats of Life, Caroline Pond aims to redress the balance, championing the cause of fat and its many intimate associates, including lipids, blubber and fat-soluble vitamins.

Pond gathers her evidence from many sources — most prominently her own field of comparative biology, but also archaeology, plant biology, historic writings and even mythology. This can make for fascinating reading, but is occasionally somewhat repetitive. Another problem is that, for much discussion, argument and presented ‘fact’, no references are given. Indeed, in much of the book, the anecdotes are better referenced than the science — a feature that will irritate the scientific but may not trouble the lay reader, as it is the anecdotes that most beckon further reading.

Edmond Boublil's “Ronde de Nuit” line on show in Paris.

The book's stated aim is to “fill the gap between unscientific comments about the hazards and benefits of high-fat or low-fat diets and weight control found in magazines, and technical and medical reports about lipid biochemistry and obesity”. Thus readers would hope to learn about the role of fat in their own bodies, its likely advantages and disadvantages, and perhaps gain some insight into how their weight may be modified if desired.

Unfortunately, while much of this information can be found in the book, it is rather scattered about. The reader comes away with no clear impression of whether overweight or obesity is truly bad, or if it may even be good. The energy balance equation is discussed or alluded to in various chapters, but its overriding importance is never made clear. For example, in weight control, dietary fat content only really makes a difference if there is a positive energy balance, meaning that you are consuming more calories than you are using up; but, while this crucial point is well made, it is also well hidden. Furthermore, Pond's arguments on the value of fat often draw on the consequences of extreme low-body-fat situations such as starvation and anorexia. This is no different from extrapolating backwards from studies of individuals with morbid obesity — an extrapolation about which Pond is critical. Similarly, the book concentrates on the metabolic aspects of fat biology and consequences of obesity, as opposed to those that are less (scientifically) trendy, such as psychiatric and orthopaedic problems, and increased rates of malignancy. No one would dispute that, in terms of cardiovascular disease or non insulin-dependent diabetes, it is better to have lipids inside, rather than outside, fat cells. But as many individuals, as well as any rheumatologist, orthopaedic surgeon, plastic surgeon or psychiatrist, will testify, excess lipid stored within fat cells may also have adverse consequences, including osteoarthritis, low self-esteem or depression, and discrimination.

The Fats of Life does not present an altogether balanced view, but there, in fact, lies part of its attraction. Its major contribution may well be to help swing the pendulum back a little, widening the recognition that in order to be healthy, one does not need to be anorexic or nearly so.