Karen Hitchcock — Fat City

Black Incorporated 2015 Paperback 64 I ask a young 200-kilo patient what he snacks on. "Nothing," he says. I look him in the eye. Nothing? He nods. I ask him about his chronic skin infections, his diabetes. He tears up: "I eat hot chips and fried dim sims and drink three bottles of Coke every afternoon. The truth is I'm addicted to eating. I'm addicted. " He punches his thigh. In Fat City, Karen Hitchcock unpicks the idea of obesity as a disease. In a riveting blend of story and analysis, she explores chemistry, psychology and the impulse to excess to explain the West's growing obesity epidemic. Karen Hitchcock is a doctor and writer. She is the author of an acclaimed Quarterly Essay, Dear Life, and an award-winning collection of short stories, Little White Slips. She writes a regular column for The Monthly. Very Good