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The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite |  | Author: David Kessler
Publisher: Rodale Books
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  281 reviews
Sales Rank: 2667
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: 1
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.2
ASIN: B0025VKJNA
Publication Date: April 28, 2009
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Product 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, 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 presents groundbreaking research, along with what is sure to be a controversial view inside the industry that continues to feed a our nation -- from popular brand manufacturers to advertisers, chain restaurants, and fast food franchises. Dr. Kessler's cutting-edge investigation offers new insights and useful 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 281
 Repetitive, slightly informative, and in the end a socialist manifesto July 27, 2010
J. R. Fielhauer (Durham, NC USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was very repetitive for the first 130 or so pages; it kept repeating the same idea that people love salt, fat, sugar and that restaurants and the food industry provide it. This section was necessary to explain the psychological aspects of overeating, but it could have been cut in half by not repeating everything. Also, the insinuation that the food industry is at fault for our obesity by providing us with what we want to eat is totally off base. What do you expect a business to do? Provide food we only marginally like? What the author doesn't seem to get is that the real crime is not selling stuff we like but marketing artificial products as food; it's called fraud, and we don't need new laws to regulate it.
The second half of the book contained a number of good strategies for how to manage your overeating problems. It used the explanation of the first half to come to some realistic conclusions on what works, what doesn't and why. This was the reason I read the book, and it definitely succeeded on this end.
The most disappointing part was the last part of the book. It was a liberal manifesto that proposed socialist policies that the author believes would help people make better choices. This guy worked for the FDA so of course he's for expanding the scope of government and creating more "well-funded" programs to combat obesity. What he and most liberals never seem to realize is that whatever power you give a government department will eventually be expanded further and eventually captured by the industry it was intended to regulate (known as regulatory capture). This occurs without exception. The only way to keep industry in line is to take power away from the government so that there is no power to capture, i.e., a free market. In a free market, the industry is totally at the whim of the people, not the corrupt and well-paid politicians in Washington DC.
What will change the obesity epidemic in this country is a culture that embraces healthy eating, and this is something the author concludes as well. It won't be until we start viewing salt, fat, and sugar as excesses that have negative consequences the same as alcohol and cigarettes. When you start seeing advertisements of sexy models selling Whole Foods instead of Doritos Tortilla Chips you'll know we've turned the corner. Hopefully that's where we're headed. The other option is scary, and the author certainly seems open to it: he says people aren't at fault for their inability to control their eating and that industry is at fault for making foods we can't help but eat again and again. I won't go into the issue of free will, but there's certainly a disconnect in his logic because he does say some people have no problem with overeating. If some people have a problem and others don't, is it really industry's fault? That's analogous to saying that car manufacturers are at fault for making cars that go more than 15 mph because some people are bad drivers. The idea that we could assume overeating (and any other activity you'd like to pick) isn't something an individual can control is a dangerous one. Should we not let people buy certain food because our science says they might get fat? What happened to my personal freedom to choose? Where do you draw the line? If we know a person is likely to commit a crime should we lock them up before they do it? This kind of logic leads to a fascist government that regulates every aspect of your life. The scary thing is it's already happening: they're outlawing trans fats and raising "sin" taxes on things like soda. If you think it's the government's job to protect you from your own decisions then you've already lost. The government and any citizen is free to speak, and they're free to educate and influence people with regard to the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol, salt, fat, sugar, marijuana, etc., but you set a dangerous precedent every time you outlaw something instead of informing citizens and letting them make decisions for themselves.
 1st step for Overeaters Anonymous - Read This Book July 26, 2010
Michelle Chapman (Evergreen, CO, US)
So you think you don't have enough will power to say no to that carmel macchiatto? It's worse than that as you will find in this book! The food industry has discovered how to make food so adictive that no one can resist. You need to recognize that sweet, salty, crispy food treats are like drugs controlling your mind, making you take one more bite, and another, until you feel sick and then come back for more as soon as you feel better! It is scary what can happen when optimization of tastiness is taken to the extreme! Kessler guides the reader through the latest research by behavioral scientists and food industry specialists to prove that we are being manipulated with a drug nearly as powerful as cocaine (combinations of sugar, salt, and fat). He doesn't leave off with the horror of it all but ends with constructive advice for the country to get out of our expanding waistline spiral. This book was captivating from start to finish, and even better - I've lost a few pounds already!
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetitie July 23, 2010
Coconut Queen
The book arrived ahead of the estimated arrival date in excellent condition. Very, very interesting book; it's a must read for anyone struggling with overeating. It explains everything and then gives concrete ways to break the habit.
 Informative and empowering July 19, 2010
V. Vital
Excellent book. Kessler did a wonderful job explaining the neuroscience driving the overeating phenomenon, in lay terms, and then explains how the food industry exploits our neurobiology to fuel its profits, leaving us obese and wanting more, leading to more obesity. The science behind the overeating phenomenon is the same behind other substance and behaviorial addictions. The brain produces "feel-good" chemicals that, apparently in certain people, leads to complete powerlessness to resist eating, creating an ever-growing automaticity of behavior. Great ideas on how to get out of this loop of powerlessness and to gain control over our bodies and our lives. My only knock on the book is that it was unduly repetitive at times, and many points could have been made much more succinctly.
This Book Changed My Way of Looking at Food July 17, 2010
Donna Simmons (Southern Maine)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I fought excess weight and the diet yoyo all my adult life. This book by Dr. Kessler was a real eye opener. I had no idea I was being manipulated by the food industry or that my overeating was an addiction. Using just common sense and the information in "The End of Overeating" I've lost 33 pounds in 9 months. Before when I'd loose 5 or 10 pounds on a fad diet I gained it all back again and more within a few months. I count the logic in Dr. Kessler's book and daily routine exercise as the reason that I met my goal and continue to feel comfortable with my food choices. I recommend his book to all my friends and family. This is a chance to change your life and not feel deprived.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 281
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