THERE IS an old saying to the effect that a person has perfect taste

if it matches your own. In a similar vein, I believe that Fit or Fat?

is the perfect book- it corroborates all my pet ideas about diets

and exercise. These weighty topics occupy an enormous segment

of the collective American consciousness. Theories abound and

books proliferate, all promising the greatest girth control with the

least amount of effort.

Covert Bailey takes a different approach. Not weight, but fat

is the enemy. Not passive nutritional manipulations, but active

changes in metabolism are the solution. Bailey's theories are based

on experience as well as biochemical and nutritional analysis. The

author, whose slim build and gargantuan appetite were the envy

of his friends for years, was shocked one day to discover that fat

had crept up on him unheralded. Realizing that the insidious onset

of his problem coincided with a marked decrease in activity, he

put two and two together (a simple matter for an M.I.T. graduate).

Boyish figure restored, Covert Bailey went on to spread the word

around unfit America, in lectures and with his mobile "Bailey

Clinic." Fit or Fat?, the resulting book, gives a lucid and enter-

taining explanation of the relationship between physical activity,

fat metabolism, and weight. It includes sound nutritional advice

based on these biochemical realities.

One's tendency, after reading this book, is to buy a dozen copies

and distribute them to friends of both the fit and the fat variety.

A little caution is recommended here. Many of the pudgy will be

inspired to throw away their latest diets and calorie charts and go

out for long walks or jogs, thus cluttering up the running paths.

And Bailey's answers may not always please the already fit.