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Description
Most of us know what it feels like to fall under the spell of food when one slice of pizza turns into half a pie, or a handful of chips leads to an empty bag. But it s harder to understand why we can't seem to stop eating even when we know better. When we want so badly to say "no," why do we continue to reach for food?
Dr. David Kessler, the dynamic former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, now reveals how the food industry has hijacked the brains of millions of Americans. The result? America s number-one public health issue. Dr. Kessler cracks the code of overeating by explaining how our bodies and minds are changed when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat, and salt. Food manufacturers create products by manipulating these ingredients to stimulate our appetites, setting in motion a cycle of desire and consumption that ends with a nation of overeaters. The End of Overeating explains for the first time why it is exceptionally difficult to resist certain foods and why it s so easy to overindulge.
Dr. Kessler met with top scientists, physicians, and food industry insiders. The End of Overeating uncovers the shocking facts about how we lost control over our eating habits and how we can get it back. Dr. Kessler presents groundbreaking research, along with what is sure to be a controversial view inside the industry that continues to feed a nation of overeaters from popular brand manufacturers to advertisers, chain restaurants, and fast food franchises.
For the millions of people struggling with weight as well as for those of us who simply don't understand why we can't seem to stop eating our favorite foods, Dr. Kessler s cutting-edge investigation offers new insights and helpful tools to help us find a solution.
There has never been a more thorough, compelling, or in-depth analysis of why we eat the way we do.
Product Details
Author:
David Kessler
Hardcover:
336 pages
Publisher:
Rodale Books
Publication Date:
April 28, 2009
Language:
English
ISBN:
1605297852
Product Length:
9.3 inches
Product Width:
6.4 inches
Product Height:
1.0 inches
Product Weight:
1.25 pounds
Package Length:
9.1 inches
Package Width:
6.3 inches
Package Height:
1.2 inches
Package Weight:
1.35 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 264 reviews
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
This book blew my mind Mar 14, 2010 After the first half of the book, I was so discouraged because it seemed the food industry, the strength of our patterns and habits, the lure of salty-fatty-sugary food had the deck so stacked against us that we were doomed to greater and greater obesity rates in this country. But the doctor had some valuable insights into how to overcome our "insatiable American appetite" by undercutting what lays underneath it. We need to be "aware" - not only of our surroundings but of our conditioned hypereating. What are our triggers and what works for us to defuse the triggers. I can't go into all the details but I have done much better after reading the book. If you don't like to read science, the first half of the book is not for you but for those of us who like facts to undergird our undertanding of what is happening to us, it is refreshing. And to really get what you need out of the "taking control" section, you really need to read the first half.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
interesting food industry info, but restraint and avoidance (diet) is his answer Mar 12, 2010 David Kessler MD shares his quest to find out why he is a "conditioned hypereater," why certain foods "won't relinquish their hold" on him. The good news- the book has some valuable insights about the American food industry and its calculated, money-making opioid-releasing mixes of fat, sugar and salt, but misses out on major players in why we eat the way we eat- namely restriction and physiology.
There is one paragraph in the book that basically dismisses restriction and dieting as contributing significantly to out of control eating, yet most of his anecdotes pulse with avoidance, restriction and the ghosts of failed diets.
He relates going to NYC and thinking the whole time about a certain ice-cream parlor and how his wife is like an AA sponsor who keeps him from indulging. Maybe dopamine (the "I want it") hormone spikes BECAUSE he thinks he "shouldn't" eat it. There are studies that show that scarcity of food increases dopamine, so why wouldn't self-imposed scarcity (diet and restriction) lead to higher dopamine and obsession with food? He goes on and on about dopamine and the intense wanting of "forbidden foods" but blames fat, salt and sugar alone. Sounds like a fun trip to NYC. (Plus his repeated graphic descriptions of fat on sugar on salt felt like self-indulgent food porn.)
He also barely mentions physiology and blood sugar, hormones or the stress response...
Are these "cravers" providing regular balanced fuel for their bodies or crashing from famished to stuffed with similar spikes and drops in blood sugar and insulin levels? Are they skipping breakfast and lunch to save up calories only to lose control at the office? A person who has fasted all day will be frantic with hunger, and the NORMAL survival instinct is to eat- a lot.
His solution?
Restrict more! Be "flexible," but only eat things that don't trigger you. Have a meal coach berate you for eating too much. Be responsible to your family so that when you "fail" you will feel that you let them down. (Lovely, more guilt and shame, which we know are not positive motivators for change.)
His one size fits all prescription of avoidance, more restraint (though with lots of nice cognitive behavioral language around it) is really more of the same. Want a treat? A single piece of chocolate or a small frozen yogurt should do it- but not yet-maybe after several months of complete abstinence! He implies weight loss will happen if you can just say no-enough.
Dr. Kesslar does not once mention the notion that you CAN learn to eat in a competent, inclusive and joyful way that is grounded in permission, joy and discipline (yes, you have to provide regular meals and enough variety for yourself.)
There is no joy, no balance, no permission.
Consider a competent eater scenario... (see Ellyn Satter's definition of Normal Eating)
Why not look forward to the ice-cream in New York? Plan to enjoy it. Savor it, be in control and then move on and enjoy the other wonderful things in NYC. Eat a good breakfast with some protein, fat and carbs, then plan on a nice meal and ice cream for dessert or skip the meal and enjoy the ice-cream for lunch. Enjoy window shopping and walking through Central Park. (Imagine, actually enjoying NYC, not obsessing about how you can't have ice-cream the whole time!)
Yes, fat and sugar and salt taste good, and they release pleasure hormones, but it doesn't mean these foods can't be enjoyed by competent eaters in a positive way-does it?
The book left me dissapoointed and sad for the many who will read it and think all they have to do is try harder.
"Food might not be addictive on its own, but prohibiting it can set off a cycle of anxiety, craving, and overconsumption that for all purposes looks like addiction."
(can't remember the source, but I love this!)
What did Kessler do as long-time head of the Food & Drug Admin. when Big Food was going crazy with chemicals, additives, etc.? Mar 06, 2010 The author, a pediatrician, was commissioner of the US Food & Drug Admin. under President Geo. HW Bush & Bill Clinton; has been dean of the medical schools at Yale and the Univ. of Calif., San Francisco
See last paragraph: I was constantly wondering WHEN the author was going to discuss his attempts, or lack thereof, as long time head of the U.S. Food & Drug Admin. to stop Big Food's shocking use of chemicals, preservatives, additives, and other sometimes dangerous and unhealthy non-food "junk" which contaminates our food supply. He never said one word about it. Nor did he address his efforts to thwart the unhealthy stripping down and refining of food, the dramatic rise of various forms of sugars being added to "food products" which are resulting in the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and a long list of chronic illnesses.
Most of this book discussed the addictive nature of sugar, fat & salt on people who eat it -- those ingredients lead people to crave more sugar, fat & salt.
What I learned:
The #1 thing I'll remember from this book is a tidbit, but it hit me over the head like a brick:
* Starbucks Strawberries & Cream drink has 18 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR IN IT. Yes, EIGHTEEN, as in the number after 17. I believe a can of Coke = 8 teaspoons of sugar.
The author spent much time and offered much evidence of the layering of sugar, fat & salt in processed & restaurant foods. Most times there are multiple forms of each -- so it's not just sugar, fat & salt, it might be fat on fat on sugar on salt on fat on sugar, or some such combo. I knew it was bad, but didn't know it was THAT bad.
I was very interested in the info on "food cues", which is anything that reminds you of a particular food or eating location. This is a big problem for me, specificially seeing TV ads or flyers in my junk mail which have a VERY strong affect on me to crave pizza. Food marketing is explored -- they know EXACTLY that people respond to the sight of a favorite fast food location, or whatever.
Everyone knows about artificial and chemical additives -- but I didn't know the extent of those substances available and in use, especially to mimic natural flavors. How this JUNK is marketed and used in the processed food world was surprising.
Many times reading this book I felt lost by the use of phrases like "salient stimuli" (huh?). Many quotes from "experts" seemed like ... I had no idea what the person was trying to convey.
It wasn't until page 213 of this 249 page book that the author referred to refined white flours & various forms of sugars (refined carbohydrates) vs. healthy whole grains and complex carbs, and how those appetite-satisfying foods were a huge part of the solution to overeating. That lost the author a big amount of credibility for me.
I also have to say that Kessler's time as head of the US Food & Drug Admin. under not one but TWO presidents didn't sit well with me. I continually wondered when he'd discuss his efforts in the role of watchdog of the U.S.'s food supply to address the refining of carbohydrates to increase Big Food's profits, extend shelf life of processed food, etc. Never talked about it. I am still wondering what, if anything, this man did while the food processors were going crazy adding tons of sugar, fat, chemicals and artificial JUNK to America's food supply, all in the quest to boost sales and make a bigger profit. The resulting epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases? The food processors and restaurants don't care, and from what I'm reading, politicians and our government are so cowed by the food lobbies and their contribution money that we are on our own as far as eating healthy and avoiding disease.
brilliant analysis of the problem, a less than compelling solution Feb 21, 2010 I have read many explanations for the so-called "obesity epidemic" in the U.S. The phenomenon is undoubtedly multifactorial, with possible contributors including the success of anti-smoking public health campaigns and consequent postcessation weight gain, the aging population, and ethnic shifts that increase the representation of groups that place less cultural emphasis on thinness, to list a few. Overeating, however, is clearly key.
The big question is not why increases in caloric intake lead to increases in weight but why here and why now? What has happened to our food supply and the way it is marketed, and why are we so receptive? The End of Overeating is a brilliant account of how food manufacturers, restaurants, and the advertising industry have conspired to manipulate the salt, fat, and sugar content of foods, mouth feel, portion size, appearance, etc. to maximize availability and palatability. These products -- often not food in the conventional sense -- are designed and tested to coopt brain reward mechanisms evolved to help us survive under very different conditions. The result is what Kessler calls "conditioned hypereating." There may once have been an advantage in eating all the berries on the bush but not in the context of perpetual overabundance. It's a setup for addiction that some can resist but many cannot.
Unfortunately Kessler's proposed solution -- essentially behavior modification based on a perceptual shift combined with showing the food industry the error of its ways -- is less compelling than his analysis of the problem. Kessler, you may recall, devoted much of his career as FDA Commissioner to exposing the tobacco industry's malevolence, which he documented in a book tellingly entitled A Question Of Intent: A Great American Battle With A Deadly Industry. As a researcher on smoking/nicotine addiction and author of a book intended to help women smokers who struggle to control weight and keep depression at bay when they quit (Life After Cigarettes: Why Women Smoke and How to Quit, Look Great, and Manage Your Weight), I kept asking myself why Kessler is so willing to give the food industry a pass. Does he think the intent of the food industry is less diabolical and profit-driven, even though The End of Overeating is rife with evidence to the contrary? I hope he is right that re-educating them will have a big impact (maybe they have learned something from watching the travails of the tobacco industry), but pardon my skepticism.
Lest anyone think we Americans have brought our troubles upon ourselves through laziness and lack of discipline, there are already signs that the "obesity epidemic" is turning into a pandemic, and why should anyone be surprised? The laws of human biology are not suspended at national borders, and though the U.S. may be at the bleeding edge, we live in a global culture. One further point: In raising concerns about obesity it is not my intent (nor do I think it is Kessler's) to endorse the socially-engineered preference for thinness that propels so many, especially women, to self-hatred and/or undernutrition. The issue is obesity as a health problem. You know something's amiss when ads aimed at diabetics, peddling products that make diabetes look like fun, become mainstream.
Kindle Version - footnotes not linked Feb 21, 2010 The Kindle has a working table of contents. However, the Endnotes, which account for almost 30% of the book are not keyed in the text. I haven't seen a paper version, maybe that is the technical difference between end notes and footnotes.
based on 264 reviews
This book blew my mind Mar 14, 2010
interesting food industry info, but restraint and avoidance (diet) is his answer Mar 12, 2010
What did Kessler do as long-time head of the Food & Drug Admin. when Big Food was going crazy with chemicals, additives, etc.? Mar 06, 2010
brilliant analysis of the problem, a less than compelling solution Feb 21, 2010
