One of the paradoxes of our current era is that only 10% of obese or overweight people are actually dieting, whereas nearly 20% of the remaining population are trying to lose weight, even if they do not need to. This volume looks into our contemporary relationship with food by inserting current body image and eating disorders, like orthorexia and bigorexia, into a broader, historical overview. Gabrielli and Irtelli combine their knowledge of psychoanalysis and anthropology with scientific research and clinical experience to create this truly interdisciplinary work. Their study uses psychoanalytical theories about our 'hyper-modern' times to trace the impact that mass media has on individuals, families and societies. It explores various 'food tribes' and exposes the contradictions of today's mass media that advertise fitness and dieting alongside increasingly tastier and accessible foods. The work helps us to understand our highly social relationship with our bodies and what we eat.

One of the paradoxes of our current era is that only 10% of obese or overweight people are actually dieting, whereas nearly 20% of the remaining population are trying to lose weight, even if they do not need to. This volume looks into our contemporary relationship with food by inserting current body image and eating disorders, like orthorexia and bigorexia, into a broader, historical overview. Gabrielli and Irtelli combine their knowledge of psychoanalysis and anthropology with scientific research and clinical experience to create this truly interdisciplinary work. Their study uses psychoanalytical theories about our 'hyper-modern' times to trace the impact that mass media has on individuals, families and societies. It explores various 'food tribes' and exposes the contradictions of today's mass media that advertise fitness and dieting alongside increasingly tastier and accessible foods. The work helps us to understand our highly social relationship with our bodies and what we eat.

L'obesita e una patologia che comporta gravi rischi per la salute ed e in continuo aumento, ma in realta soltanto il 10% delle persone obese o soprappeso sono a dieta, mentre invece e a dieta quasi il 20% di coloroche non ne hanno bisogno. E' uno dei paradossi del mondo attuale, o meglio, dei paesi industrializzati: nel resto del mondo, gran parte della popolazione soffre ancora di grave malnutrizione, mentre molti di noi si mettono a dieta soltanto per essere piu belli; non solo, anche e soprattutto per essere piu felici. Oggi chi non sceglie la felicita e considerato un perdente e finisce per sentirsi inadeguato, lacerato dalla vergogna, che nella nostra epoca ha preso il posto della colpa e annulla la stima di se. Si impone dunque una riflessione profonda sulla nostra vita quotidiana, sul senso delle nostre azioni, sulle finalita che ci proponiamo, sui valori acui ci affidiamo. Gli autori affrontano il tema spaziando a tutto tondo e toccando tanti argomenti apparentemente diversi"