Overview: Do we control our fat, or does it control us? Scientists are coming to understand fat as a fascinating and dynamic organ -- one whose size has more to do with biological processes than personal choices.

Through real life stories of hunter-gatherers, sumo wrestlers, and supermodels, NOVA explores the complex functions of fat and role it plays in controlling hunger, hormones, and even reproduction.

DVD Verdict: For generations, fat has been the enemy. We've demonized it as a cumbersome health risk and cast overweight individuals as too gluttonous or lazy to make healthy choices.

Now, NOVA takes you inside the amazing world of fat. Why don't sumo wrestlers don't suffer from the health problems that other obese people do? Why has evolution hardwired us to hang onto fat even when it's unhealthy? And what would happen if you had no fat at all?

Most people try out diets just to see if they work. One friend cuts out sugar, a second cuts out fat. Another mumbles something about gut microbes. Even scientists still seem to be arguing about what causes obesity, so what hope is there for the rest of us?

An essential watch (and lesson) for anyone who constantly worries about the modern obsession with diet and weight loss, even though it contains revelations that many will, ironically, find hard to swallow, 'NOVA: The Truth About Fat' is yet another winning documentary for the masses.

Looking at food availability, health issues, the environment, and various fad diets, NOVA finds that obesity is not a condition under the control of the sufferer.

Indeed, it seems the scientists that NOVA interview have (basically put) no patience with pseudoscientific claims concerning health and diet and trenchantly attacks the assertions of trendy diets.

Well scripted, well displayed, and an easily digested watch, 'NOVA: The Truth About Fat' (narrated by Hope Davis) gives the reader a fresh perspective on the issue of obesity and lambastes our cultural discrimination of the obese.

Through real-life stories of hunter-gatherers, supermodels, and a Biggest Loser contestant, 'NOVA: The Truth About Fat' explores the complex functions of fat and the role it plays in controlling hunger, hormones, and even reproduction. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.