Book Complements Upcoming “Weight of the Nation” HBO Documentary

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) executive officer has co-authored a book examining America’s obesity epidemic. Judith Salerno’s The Weight of the Nation: To Win We Have to Lose was published to complement a four-part HBO documentary on obesity debuting May 14-15, 2012, and a national campaign to curb obesity rates, both of which were featured in Issue 423 of this Update. The book was co-written by the documentary’s executive producer, John Hoffman, and its co-producer, Alexandra Moss.

According to IOM, the book explores “the array of factors that feed America’s obesity problem—from the human body itself, which evolved to crave more food than it needs, to restaurant portion sizes that pack a day’s worth of calories into one meal, to neighborhoods and workplaces that encourage little physical activity.” IOM also plans to release a report titled “Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Weight of the Nation conference on May 8 in Washington, D.C. See IOM Press Release, April 24, 2012.