New book applies a novel systems thinking perspective to weight management/obesity

Newly published systems book Thinking in Circles about Obesity: Applying Systems Thinking to Weight Management argues for, and presents a Systems Thinking perspective for thinking about and addressing the obesity problem.

In Thinking in Circles about Obesity, MIT-trained Systems Thinking scholar Dr. Tarek K. A. Hamid applies systems thinking to provide a deeper understanding of / insight into how human energy and weight regulation works, why it works that way, and how to better manage it.

While already commonplace in engineering and in business, the use of systems thinking in personal health is less widely adopted. Yet this is precisely the setting where complexities are most problematic and where the stakes are highest.

Understanding human weight and energy regulation is not about understanding appetite (energy-in) or exercise (energy-out) or the environment or genetics. Human weight and energy regulation is a system that can only be understood as an integrated whole. Appetite shapes body weight, and body weight influences appetite. Weight reflects activity levels (which are also shaped by the socioeconomic environment), and activity levels reflect weight, and so on. All these various factors are all interconnected, pushing on each other and being pushed on in return.

The book aims to challenge deeply ingrained assumptions about health risk and well being and provide readers with the conceptual understanding needed to effectively exercise personal control over their bodies and their health habits.

The book aims to present a systems thinking perspective of the obesity problem in a form thats accessible to the general reader, with the hope that it would have a profound influence on how ordinary people think about and manage their health and well being. It is truly a new development.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Circles-About-Obesity -Understand/