W: Today, on Book Talk, we are lucky enough to host John Robbins and discuss his new book, Why Americans Are Fat and How We Can Lose Weight. John isn't just a respected writer; he's also one of the rare celebrity authors writing about science today.
M: Thanks for having me, Rebecca, but I'm hardly a celebrity.
W: That's very modest of you to say, considering that your four books have sold a total of seven million copies worldwide, and they've been translated into 12 different languages. What makes people so fascinated with your work?
M: Well, people read my books because more than 60% of Americans are overweight, or obese. And other countries are facing similar problems. Basically, we all want to know how to fix things.
W: We certainly do. I've read your new book, and it's fabulous, especially when it comes to the way you make difficult science easy for laymen to understand. That's no small achievement.
M: I'm glad to hear you find my work accessible, because I was worried when I wrote it that discussing the science might make the book more suited for a specialist audience. My last book was written primarily for the medical community. But this time, I want to help ordinary people take control of their weight.
W: And how do you suggest they do that? Can you give us the basics of your advice for people who want to lose weight?
M: Briefly, I argue that every person needs to consider their metabolism and eat what suits their body's needs. I don't advocate one single diet. Some people should eat more carbohydrates than others. And different people need different amounts of protein and fat.
W: But you do have some recommendations for everyone, including eating ten servings of vegetables and three of fruit a day. We'll talk about those recommendations next, but now we need to take a short break for a message from our sponsor.