Obesity: Causes, Mechanisms, Prevention and Treatment

Blass (psychology, neuroscience, and behavior, U. of Massachusetts, Amherst) presents 13 chapters by 31 contributors examining the causes and underlying mechanisms of obesity, and possible strategies for its prevention and better fitness. Coverage includes metabolic influences on the controls of meal size, obesity and addiction, sensory and hedonic comparisons, the development of eating behavior, learning and hedonic contributions, current perspectives and controversies concerning exercise for obesity treatment and prevention, built-environment influences on energy balance and body weight, the role of energy density of foods in the control of food intake, proposed modifications to the U.S. Food Stamp Program, and obesity and media use. Suitable as a student text and a reference for a broad range of academics, researchers, and professionals concerned with obesity trends in the U.S. Specific credentials of the contributing authors are not stated. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Elliott M. Blass received his PhD [Psychology] from the University of Virginia and his postdoctoral training [Zoology] from the University of Pennsylvania. He was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University and Medical School [Psychology and Psychiatry] for twenty years, during which time he was trained as a Psychiatry Resident. He taught for six years at Cornell [Psychology and Nutrition] and is now a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior at the University of Massachusetts. Blass is a Research Professor in Pediatrics at The Boston University School of Medicine. His research interests have focused on feeding motivation, infant nutrition, mother-infant interactions, and obesity.