THE PREGNANT MALE OR EIGHT STEPS TO A FLAT STOMACH Jack H. McQuaig. Toronto, Hunter Carlyle Publishing, c1982. Distributed by Wiley. 111pp, cloth, $9.95. ISBN 0-9691113-04. Grades 12 and up. Reviewed by Michael Freeman. Volume 11 Number 1. 1983 January. This cliché-ridden account of a Toronto psychologist's eight-step formula aimed at changing a pot-belly to a flat stomach contains nothing new and much that is risky if not downright dangerous. Presented with ideas outlined in a dull, pedantic fashion with thoroughly unattractive "cartoons," the reader must struggle merely to finish this brief volume. Advised to eat less, exercise more, cut out sweets and carbohydrates, lose one pound a week for fifty weeks, keep food out of sight, the obese reader, already made self-conscious by constant degrading references to his "pregnant" potbelly, may well wonder why he should listen to the same old arguments in favour of self-discipline. If he possessed self-discipline, he would not have developed the pot-belly in the first place. McQuaig's suggestions are often both contradictory and ill-advised. In one place, he tells the reader to eat meals slowly and chew his food well. In another, he advocates eating meals standing up with the radio on in order to make the process of eating less attractive. He details instructions on fasting, daily strenuous exercise, and competing with one's wife to lose the most weight, with only a general admonition to consult a physician before embarking on these often perilous paths. Not recommended. Michael Freeman, Downsview SS, Downsview, ON.