Anybody who has ever been frustrated with trying to lose weight can get a lot out of this book, so the target audience is rather large. Dr. Silverstein pulls statistics and facts together so nicely into a book with language easy enough for children to read, but concerning a topic that all ages can easily relate to. It is obvious how well researched the book is because the frequency with which the author drops in statistics is astonishing. This is not just a protest of fad diets, but a medical doctor shedding light on the sociological, psychological, and physiological implications and causes of obesity. Some visual and graphical aids would have been nice, but the text is large enough that the eyes do not yearn for a break in the wall of text like with some other texts. This book was published in 1991, so it would be interesting to see what he might have to say with probiotics being a big craze now for reducing bloating. ( )