Medicine: Battle of the Bulges

Since 1973, some 200,000 U.S. women have spent $12.95 for a book telling them how to get rid of a substance some call cellulite* (pronounced cell-u-leet), which supposedly accumulates beneath the skin to form unsightly dimples and bulges. Now thousands more, lured by television commercials, are shelling out $5.95 for a paperback version of the same book. As a result, Cellulite (Bantam Books) is on some newspaper bestseller lists. Nutritionists, who consider the book's premises unsound though essentially harmless, are shaking their heads in amusement—or envy.

Written by Nicole Ronsard, 35-ish, an attractive Frenchwoman, the book speaks directly to women who worry...

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