DATE: Wednesday, October 22, 1997           TAG: 9710220034

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Book Review 

SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON 

                                            LENGTH:   71 lines

OBESITY IS CHALLENGED THROUGH HUMOR

FORMERLY FAT Michael Fumento proclaims that his book, ``The Fat of the Land,'' is the ``first trade (popular press) book dealing with obesity as a national problem.'' The most important factor, however, in solving this - ahem - huge problem, he writes, ``is the action of individuals. Yes, we live in a society that's a conveyor belt to obesity. But some of us have gotten off, and all of us have an obligation to try.''

Anyone who's trying to lose weight can surely benefit from this simple, humorous, educational, no-nonsense volume by Arlington medical journalist Fumento. It's filled with his own experiences in the dieting game, quotes from just about everyone ever associated with workable - and mythological - weight-loss plans, pages of endnotes to back up what's quoted, and puns that bring a smile to even the most skeptical lips. (``We need to spread the word about obesity''; don't put your high hopes on diet guru ``parasites who feed off your dreams.'')

No matter how many different ways Fumento says it here, there is really only one message: To lose weight, ``all that counts is calories. The Pope is always Catholic and calories always count.'' What was that? How do you lose body fat? ``Simple. You either cut your calories or increase your energy expenditure.''

You can blame your genes, your doctor, your society - too industrial, too fast, too much marketing - your family or your metabolism, but the fact remains that ``obesity is the most common chronic health problem in America'' today. Obesity, Fumento writes, is defined as ``being at least 20 percent fatter'' than you should be. By his count, ``obesity kills an estimated 300,000 Americans a year.''

And being overweight can also account for bad sexual experiences, sad marriages and pathetic social lives, Fumento warns. But you can read the chapter titled, ``The Perils of Poundage'' to find out more about this theory. Then go on to ``One Nation, Overweight,'' ``Big Fat Myths that Make Us Fatter'' and ``Diets Don't Work - Except When They Do.''

This book is bulging with information, heavy on the humor and spiced with stories of profiteers and pushy peddlers in the diet industry. It's loaded with charts and statistics, but they don't detract from the overall good read. Maybe that's because you're eager to keep reading to find out exactly what the author means when he refers to ``the F-word'' (no, it's not fat), and why he believes ``the ultimate quack weight-loss device is the diet book.''

Fumento, who looks like a young Omar Shariff in his book jacket photo, swears that, when it comes to being an overweight couch potato, he's been there/done that. He writes that he despaired of ever losing the 25 extra pounds he'd put on since he was 18: ``I did the fad diets. One, I recall, nothing but low-fat buttermilk and sugar-free Jell-O.'' You have to feel some camaraderie with a guy who'd try something so bizarre.

Fumento tells you right up front that he's met his goal of being thin again: ``It will always be one of my life's biggest accomplishments.'' But he also writes that he had another goal for ``The Fat of the Land'' - to bring together ``the best science has yet to offer the obese and slap it between two covers,'' and then ``do my darnedest to make the science interesting.''

Mission accomplished, Michael. If you want to lose weight, do what Fumento recommends - count calories and get off your duff. And do what I recommend - read this book. MEMO: Charlene Cason, a former staff writer, is finishing work on an MFA

in creative writing at Old Dominion University. She lives in Edenton,

N.C. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

BOOK REVIEW

Title: ``Man Crazy''

Author: Joyce Carol Oates

Publisher: Dutton. 282 pp.

Price: $23.95.

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