About the Program

Face it: We're fat.

With 66 percent of U.S. adults either overweight or obese, our girth is a serious public health issue. Yet many of us still view being overweight as a character flaw, a lack of self-control, or even a moral crime.

But does fat really equal failure? FAT: What No One Is Telling You explores the myriad psychological, physiological and environmental factors that can make it so tough to shed pounds and keep them off. In this documentary, Executive producer Naomi Boak and producer/director Tom Spain, both Emmy Award honorees, share new scientific knowledge about hunger, eating, and human metabolic operation. This film also explains our psychological responses to food, and shows how external pressures (such as oversized restaurant portions and the unending barrage of food advertisement) make fighting fat so difficult, both on the personal and national levels.

FAT's engaging personal narratives create snapshots of our national struggle with obesity:

Meet Rosie Dehli, a Minnesota grandmother, battling to get fit so she can enjoy an active, playful relationship with her grandchild.

Meet Mary Dimino, an actress and comedian, in New York, NY, who exemplifies the hard work people must do to lose pounds and stay healthy once they've been obese.

Meet America Bracho, a public-health professional in Santa Ana, California, who is educating families about nutrition while encouraging her Latino community's children to move, both in school and at home.

Meet Rocky Tayeh, a Brooklyn, New York teenager grappling with the very personal (and highly criticized) solution of undergoing Lap-Band surgery.

Meet Dr. Lee Kaplan of Harvard University Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, who is a clinician, researcher and above all an empathetic warrior in the battle against obesity

The voices of these and other real Americans tell the story of the biological barriers, cultural habits, and economic realities that contribute to our nation's expanding waistline.

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