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 a...
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Feb 12, 2010
Lorin
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This is a fascinating account of the measures that the food industry takes--both in marketing and in its attempts to load food with as much sugar, fat and salt as possible--to make its often very unhealthy products irresistable to consumers, and how it thereby has helped usher in the epidemic of obesity in the U.S.
Kessler, a former FDA chief best known for his anti-tobacco efforts, struggled for most of his life with a need to eat more that was good for him, a need he shares with an More...
Kessler, a former FDA chief best known for his anti-tobacco efforts, struggled for most of his life with a need to eat more that was good for him, a need he shares with an More...
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Sep 25, 2010
Andrea
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This book has changed the way I will look at food forever. In an attempt to lead a healthier life and eat cleaner this book has made a huge impact on my views of advertising, marketing, and food production. The author has hammered into my head that almost everything processed is layered with sugar, fat, and salt. These tempting treats make us want more sugar, fat, and salt. No wonder American's are so fat and unhealth! We spend trillions of dollars on health care and what we really need to do is
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Jun 25, 2009
Andrea
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Here's what the book covers:
1. Humans like to eat sugar, fat, and salt.
2. We eat more of foods we like to eat, and less of those we don't.
3. The food industry knows this.
4. So they add more sugar, fat, and salt to food so we like it more and therefore eat more of it.
5. Some people have better self-control than others when it comes to overeating.
6. So, to stop overeating, JUST DON'T EAT SO MUCH. Quit when you're full. Don't eat till you're stuffed. Cut b More...
1. Humans like to eat sugar, fat, and salt.
2. We eat more of foods we like to eat, and less of those we don't.
3. The food industry knows this.
4. So they add more sugar, fat, and salt to food so we like it more and therefore eat more of it.
5. Some people have better self-control than others when it comes to overeating.
6. So, to stop overeating, JUST DON'T EAT SO MUCH. Quit when you're full. Don't eat till you're stuffed. Cut b More...
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Feb 11, 2012
g-na
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Kessler is a physician and former FDA commissioner who has had his own struggles with overeating. This book attempts to explain why we overeat, how meals (and appetites) have changed in the last several decades, and offers some suggestions to help overcome "conditioned hypereating." It sounds great in theory, but I had some issues with the book's structure. More than half the 250 pages discuss how the food industry tricks us into eating more by adding large amounts of sugar, fat, and s
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Feb 03, 2012
Nancy
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Dr. Kessler's book is a highly accessible account of how the food industry crafts its products to appeal to the insatiable American appetite for sugar, fat and salt. He explores in detail the biological responses to these stimuli and makes a great case for how we literally become food addicts.
The best parts of the book are Dr. Kessler's conversations with co-workers and well-known people such as Wolfgang Puck, the chef, and Robert De Niro, who gained sixty pounds for the movie Raging More...
The best parts of the book are Dr. Kessler's conversations with co-workers and well-known people such as Wolfgang Puck, the chef, and Robert De Niro, who gained sixty pounds for the movie Raging More...
Nov 08, 2011
Amanda
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This book is an experiment in how many times someone can repeat the same concept in different ways.
It sells itself as being a look inside the food industry and food culture, as well as the science of appetite and overeating, but most of the book focuses simply on the fact that popular restaurants and snack food these days layer fat, sugar, or salt together.
The author also has this idea that being overweight is pretty much solely a result of something he calls hypereating- More...
It sells itself as being a look inside the food industry and food culture, as well as the science of appetite and overeating, but most of the book focuses simply on the fact that popular restaurants and snack food these days layer fat, sugar, or salt together.
The author also has this idea that being overweight is pretty much solely a result of something he calls hypereating- More...
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May 02, 2011
Marissa
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Kessler calls attention to the obesity epidemic, noting that Americans have gotten significantly heavier on average in recent decades, and that people who are overweight and obese get fatter faster.
When we eat food that is unnaturally pumped up with salt, fat and sugar, people are like bird parents who choose another species' too-large eggs to sit on instead of their own eggs. Nothing good can come of this crazy mismatch. The salt-fat-sugar combination wreaks havoc on our brains, ma More...
When we eat food that is unnaturally pumped up with salt, fat and sugar, people are like bird parents who choose another species' too-large eggs to sit on instead of their own eggs. Nothing good can come of this crazy mismatch. The salt-fat-sugar combination wreaks havoc on our brains, ma More...
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Mar 22, 2011
Jeremy
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The first half of the book is pure food porn. Detailed, multisensory descriptions of super-unhealthy menu items from chain restaurants or snack foods - it's just about perfectly designed to send you running to the refrigerator. It's not a huge surprise to discover that the addictive qualities of this kind of food are well-known to people in the restaurant and snack-food industries, and even less a surprise to be told they are, in fact, addictive. So that part is really only good for salivating
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Mar 03, 2011
Lori
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Listening to the first chapter of this book, I was convinced it was my biography! I found this to be a very fascinating account of what makes us overeat and how the food industry uses this information to sell their products and feed our addictions. They have found that people become mildly addicted to sugar, salt, or fat but when these things are combined in optimal proportions, our addictions are enhanced. Many chain restaurants over process their meat and chicken so that we are essentially e
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Feb 02, 2011
Nandini
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What a waste of space and good paper this book is! The idiot author takes information enough to fill MAYBE one page and repeats it over and over and over and over again for three hundred pages. There an unbelievable amount of meaningless, useless fluff in the text. Almost worse than this is how NOT A SINGLE CHAPTER IS LONGER THAN 3 PAGES. MY IQ scrore has halved from reading this.
FYI, here's every single bit of real material in the book:
1. If you eat foods containing lot More...
FYI, here's every single bit of real material in the book:
1. If you eat foods containing lot More...
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Jan 13, 2011
Audrey
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This is not a self-help book, nor is a diet book. I found the title misleading when I picked it up at the local branch of my library. Instead it is a book that about public health, the so-called obesity epidemic, and the science of human appetite. Written by a doctor who self-describes as fat, this title explores why a good majority of us can't stop eating fat, sugar, and salt. The premise, thoroughly explained scientific studies is that for some people it's not a matter of willpower, that th
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Dec 24, 2010
David
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(Audiobook version) Very helpful in:
-- reinforcing the negative effects of processed food
-- pointing out how artificial and salt-, sugar- and fat-laden such food is
-- rewiring the mental approach toward such food that's been created and designed to be as appealing as possible
-- inhibiting cravings
I certainly hope to pay many fewer visits to Panda Express and Burger King, both on the way to work, after having listened to this. Very easy to think of Chinese fran More...
-- reinforcing the negative effects of processed food
-- pointing out how artificial and salt-, sugar- and fat-laden such food is
-- rewiring the mental approach toward such food that's been created and designed to be as appealing as possible
-- inhibiting cravings
I certainly hope to pay many fewer visits to Panda Express and Burger King, both on the way to work, after having listened to this. Very easy to think of Chinese fran More...
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Oct 11, 2010
Lindsay
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A terrific work of popular science by the former head of the FDA. Dr. Kessler, an appetite researcher in his own right, explains how processed foods are literally rewiring the reward pathways in our brains to make us eat more and more without ever really feeling satisfied.
Our appetite control systems are adapted for a diet of unprocessed meats and plants. Now, most of the average American's calories come from highly refined or processed food products. Since we evolved under scarcity More...
Our appetite control systems are adapted for a diet of unprocessed meats and plants. Now, most of the average American's calories come from highly refined or processed food products. Since we evolved under scarcity More...
Oct 03, 2010
Karen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 14, 2010
Elizabeth
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from the library computer:
Summary: Most of us know what it feels like to fall under the spell of food--when 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. Dr. David Kessler, the dynamic former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, now cracks the code of overeating by explaining how our bodies and minds are changed when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat, and More...
Summary: Most of us know what it feels like to fall under the spell of food--when 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. Dr. David Kessler, the dynamic former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, now cracks the code of overeating by explaining how our bodies and minds are changed when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat, and More...
Dec 18, 2009
Skostal
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The man who took on big tobacco takes on big food, tapping into our broad fascination of why so much of America is overweight. Kessler, former head of the FDA and former dean of UCSF med school, looks at the psychology and neuroscience behind what he called "conditioned hypereating." It is an incredibly well written book, and many of the studies he cites about impulse, how our brain is cued, and how we respond are interesting to apply to whatever your current addiction; TV, sex, alcoh
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Nov 30, 2009
Sandi
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This book was recommended to me by a physician. He was struck by the concepts of this book and it triggered him to wonder how we can use this knowledge to help curb the obesity epidemic. I enjoyed Kessler's explorations of triggers and cues that lead us to eat. He goes on to describe the making of restaurant and processed food and the ways in which the combination of sugar, fat and salt drive more desire for the combination of sugar, fat and salt. Some people are more susceptible, but we ar
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Nov 30, 2009
Loafingcactus
rated it:
Kessler went to the most interesting places and interviewed the most interesting people on the subject, yet walked away with nothing better than surface impressions reinforcing his own prejudices. This is not to say that his prejudices are incorrect, but rather that the book is repetative, dull and pointless. He has his elevator speech done- a half-page magazine article would have done the trick.
Also, I think he fails in his thinking when he cuts off biology at the neck, focusing o More...
Also, I think he fails in his thinking when he cuts off biology at the neck, focusing o More...
Nov 29, 2009
Geoff
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Although I am relatively fit and I exercise regularly, I consider myself an "over-eater." After seeing this book advertised in a running magazine that I subscribe to, I decided to purchase it.
Despite the fact that the author is a M.D., the book is written at a low level. Most of the book is spent explaining simple concepts such as stimulus/response, reward theory, and how neurons/neurotransmitters work. After wading through all the unnecessary background, Kessler final More...
Despite the fact that the author is a M.D., the book is written at a low level. Most of the book is spent explaining simple concepts such as stimulus/response, reward theory, and how neurons/neurotransmitters work. After wading through all the unnecessary background, Kessler final More...
Nov 23, 2009
Sharon
rated it: 
I heard the author speak on MPR and was impressed enough to put my name on the long wait list for his book at the library.
I was a little disappointed. Kessler starts out strong with an excellent explanation of why we overeat. Humans love fat/salt/sugar and the food industry is increasingly geared to constantly bombard us with various combinations of fat/salt/sugar. Some of our most popular restaurant meals consist of food that is fried and refried, then layered with salt, sweetene More...
I was a little disappointed. Kessler starts out strong with an excellent explanation of why we overeat. Humans love fat/salt/sugar and the food industry is increasingly geared to constantly bombard us with various combinations of fat/salt/sugar. Some of our most popular restaurant meals consist of food that is fried and refried, then layered with salt, sweetene More...
Nov 12, 2009
Judith
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The author is a former FDA commissioner, dean of Yale medical school, and currently a pediatrician. So he is extremely well informed and yet so down-to-earth that he commiserates with all of us who are tempted by sweet and salty junk foods, convenience foods, and fast foods. What I really liked about this book is that the author really investigates the chemical reasons behind the temptations and shows the reader that it's not completely our fault we tend to overeat the wrong kinds of food. Th
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Nov 07, 2009
Emily
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I worried that this would be more of the same (Fast Food Nation, Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, etc.) but Kessler takes a new approach, focusing less on the evils of the food industry (although they’re in there) and more on the behaviors that drive overeating. Kessler identifies “conditioned hypereating” in which people habitually overeat in a manner that leads to more overeating and makes it harder and harder to end the behavior. In this group of people he also identifies obsessive tho
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Nov 04, 2009
AJ
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I am really disappointed with this book.
It starts off promising: foods that have a lot of sugar, fat, and salt make us want to keep eating, especially foods with even more sugar, fat, and salt. To add to this fun, some people are wired to overeat while others are able to stop. If you're wired to overeat, it doesn't matter if you're overweight or not - some people have figured out how to compensate and stay at a healthy weight while others are not able to do so and become obese.
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It starts off promising: foods that have a lot of sugar, fat, and salt make us want to keep eating, especially foods with even more sugar, fat, and salt. To add to this fun, some people are wired to overeat while others are able to stop. If you're wired to overeat, it doesn't matter if you're overweight or not - some people have figured out how to compensate and stay at a healthy weight while others are not able to do so and become obese.
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Oct 28, 2009
An excellent interview with the author was broadcast on KQED Forum. Summary:
Pediatrician and former head of the Food and Drug Administration David Kessler says the U.S. food industry has manipulated American consumers into unhealthy eating habits. In his book, "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite," Kessler describes how chronic overeaters might resist artificially induced food cravings.Kessler is a pediatrician and was a commissioner of the United More...
Oct 22, 2009
Incommunicado
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Apparently food tastes good because of the sugar, salt and/or fat in it. Really!? In addition, the evil food industry manipulates the amounts of sugar, salt and/or fat in their food to make it taste better! Oh the humanity! Forget who was or was not on the grassy knoll in Dallas; here is the Great American Conspiracy.
For a much better treatment of the horrific flaws in the american diet and the malevolence of the food industry read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Micheal P More...
For a much better treatment of the horrific flaws in the american diet and the malevolence of the food industry read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Micheal P More...
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Oct 18, 2009
Jane
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After reading this book, I'm not sure I'll ever want another French fry again. Well, maybe I'll still WANT one, but I'll probably think twice about eating it--and a lot of other things. Had heard David Kessler, a former U.S. Surgeon General, interviewed about this book on MPR one day and added this book to my list. Kessler breaks down the food industry's efforts to attract consumers with "hyperpalatable" foods that encourage "hypereating," so apparently some of this overea
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Oct 17, 2009
Layla
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Kessler gives a disturbing look at the present social norms surrounding eating and how society has been conditioned to overeat. Influenced by the food industry's highly palatable products and aggressive marketing campaigns, we are programmed to eat the wrong foods for the wrong reasons, and in unreasonably large quantities. In addition, it has become culturally acceptable to deal with emotions by eating or to eat for a reward. Over the years, the concept of food is more convoluted than serving a
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Oct 13, 2009
David
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pretty good description and analysis of changes in eating patterns in the US, aided and abetted by food/restaurant industry, toward "conditioned hypereating", resulting in high rates of overweight and obesity.
No real explanation for individual differences in this phenomenon, gives short shrift to relevance of exercise in weight maintenance/reduction, and advocates habit reversal [one of his go-to interview sources in the behavior change section is a researcher who mainly More...
No real explanation for individual differences in this phenomenon, gives short shrift to relevance of exercise in weight maintenance/reduction, and advocates habit reversal [one of his go-to interview sources in the behavior change section is a researcher who mainly More...
Sep 29, 2009
Mike
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If you struggle with overeating, you must keep one thing in mind when deciding to read this book: you MUST finish it! Otherwise don't start it!
For the first half of the book is pretty much filled with reasons why American people trying to gain control of their appetite routinely fail over and over, again and again, against a seemingly unconquerable enemy.
Backed with all kinds of research studies on what goes on in our brains when presented with foods we love (usually food More...
For the first half of the book is pretty much filled with reasons why American people trying to gain control of their appetite routinely fail over and over, again and again, against a seemingly unconquerable enemy.
Backed with all kinds of research studies on what goes on in our brains when presented with foods we love (usually food More...
Sep 06, 2009
Ann
rated it:
i don't think this book is very well written, but it is important. Kessler outlines something that I have been saying to patients for years, namely that if a company is selling anything, it makes more money by getting you to buy more of its product. If the product is shoes or books, the result for the consumer is more books on the shelf, or more shoes in the closet. But if a company is selling processed food, it cannot increase its profits without inducing its customers to overeat. Kessler d
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