The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

Overview

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'tunderstand why wecan'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.

Editorial Reviews

"Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw," says Kessler, former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush and Clinton). Here Kessler (A Question of Intent) describes how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body's self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Through the evidence of research, personal stories (including candid accounts of his own struggles) and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains, Kessler explains how the desire to eat-as distinct from eating itself-is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar. Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar. A gentle though urgent plea for reform, Kessler's book provides a simple "food rehab" program to fight back against the industry's relentless quest for profits while an entire country of people gain weight and get sick. According to Kessler, persistence is all that is needed to make the perceptual shifts and find new sources of rewards to regain control. (May) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of David A. Kessler

David Kessler, coauthor, with Elisabeth K�bler-Ross, of Life Lessons and On Grief and Grieving, has helped thousands face death with peace, dignity, and courage, including the late Anthony Perkins and Michael Landon. His services have been used by Elizabeth Taylor, Carrie Fisher, and Marianne Williamson when their loved ones faced death. He lives in Los Angeles.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Rodale Press, Incorporated

Filesize

2.70 MB

Number of Pages

336

eBook ISBN

9781605295053