An argument that I find myself making over and over is that although diet is a very personal thing, it can be understood sociologically. And not only can it be understood this way, you have to understand it this way if you're to make sense of facts like one which I start the book with: that the closer Mexican teenagers are to the US border, the more likely they are to be overweight.

The dynamics of consumption that have been imposed on Mexico by its more powerful northern neighbour are having some profound effects. Mohammed writes with this article, which announces that Mexico is the second-most overweight country in the world, after the US, and if trends continue, will soon outweigh the gringos. More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national surveys. ... read more »

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Posted on 1 April, 2008 - 21:12

I'm going to be even more delinquent about posting material here than usual - I'm in Spain to launch the Spanish version of the book, called Obesos y famélicos and published by Los Libros Del Lince. A section, on supermarkets, has already appeared in El País.

And if you're in town, I'll be giving a talk this Friday at the Barcelona Centre for Contemporary Culture (and, don't worry, I'll not be inflicting my pig-Spanish on anyone). ... read more »

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Posted on 1 April, 2008 - 21:17