Two weeks ago, the Stanford Health Policy Forum hosted an event examining the reasons why we get fat and how different diet trends and food policies affect our nation’s obesity rates. The forum featured a conversation between science writer Gary Taubes and Christopher Gardner, PhD, director of Nutrition Studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. During the discussion, Paul Costello, the medical school’s chief communications officer, talked to Taubes and Gardner about Americans' misconceptions about food, diet and nutrition, the driving forces behind the obesity surge of the late-80s and the path to a healthier, leaner lifestyle.

Previously: Forum to focus on how food policies affect our nation’s obesity rates, Four states examine their cultural environment to reduce obesity rates and Examining why instilling healthy eating and exercise habits in children may not prevent obesity later in life