
Fat Cow, Fat Chance
The science and psychology of size
Jenni Murray(Author)
Black Swan (Publisher)
Published on 2. September 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-78416-396-9 (ISBN)
Description
'A powerful, poignant tale of dieting and despair.' The Times
'A moving, brutally honest memoir about what it feels like to be fat-shamed.' Mail on Sunday
_______________
At sixty-four, Jenni Murray's weight had become a disability. She avoided the scales, she wore a uniform of baggy black clothes, refused to make connections between her weight and health issues and told herself that she was fat and happy. She was certainly fat. But the happy part was an Oscar-worthy performance. In private she lived with a growing sense of fear and misery that her weight would probably kill her before she made it to seventy.
Interwoven with the science, social history and psychology of weight management, Fat Cow, Fat Chance is a refreshingly honest account of what it's like to be fat when society dictates that skinny is the norm. It asks why we overeat and why, when the weight is finally lost through dieting, do we simply pile the pounds back on again? How do we help young people become comfortable with the way they look? What are the consequences of the obesity epidemic for an already overstretched NHS? And, whilst fat shaming is so often called out, why is it that shouting 'fat cow' at a woman in the street hasn't been included in the list of hate crimes?
Fusing politics, science and personal pain, this is a powerful exploration of our battle with obesity.
_______________
'Agony and confusion, humour and hope. A beautiful book.' Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue
'A perceptive look at health and happiness.' Sunday Express
'A moving, brutally honest memoir about what it feels like to be fat-shamed.' Mail on Sunday
_______________
At sixty-four, Jenni Murray's weight had become a disability. She avoided the scales, she wore a uniform of baggy black clothes, refused to make connections between her weight and health issues and told herself that she was fat and happy. She was certainly fat. But the happy part was an Oscar-worthy performance. In private she lived with a growing sense of fear and misery that her weight would probably kill her before she made it to seventy.
Interwoven with the science, social history and psychology of weight management, Fat Cow, Fat Chance is a refreshingly honest account of what it's like to be fat when society dictates that skinny is the norm. It asks why we overeat and why, when the weight is finally lost through dieting, do we simply pile the pounds back on again? How do we help young people become comfortable with the way they look? What are the consequences of the obesity epidemic for an already overstretched NHS? And, whilst fat shaming is so often called out, why is it that shouting 'fat cow' at a woman in the street hasn't been included in the list of hate crimes?
Fusing politics, science and personal pain, this is a powerful exploration of our battle with obesity.
_______________
'Agony and confusion, humour and hope. A beautiful book.' Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue
'A perceptive look at health and happiness.' Sunday Express
Reviews / Votes
A powerful, poignant tale of dieting and despair. * The Times * I'd put this book into every school as a warning to girls - and boys - not to waste their lives obsessing over food. * Mail on Sunday * A perceptive look at health and happiness. * Sunday Express * Jenni has a light touch when writing about hers and others struggles with eating and bodies. She does it too with the science, so that agony and confusion is mixed with humour and hope. A beautiful book. * Susie Orbach * Laudably frank. * The Big Issue * A painfully honest account of [Jenni's] lifelong battle to lose weight and an investigation into the physical and psychological causes of obesity. * Daily Mail *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
189 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78416-396-9 (9781784163969)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2020
1st Edition
Transworld Digital
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Jenni Murray is a journalist and broadcaster who presented BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour from 1987 to 2020. She is the author of several books and writes a weekly column in the Daily Mail. She lives in north London and the New Forest.