Book Review #77

Well, using the Kindle has me reading a bit more now. In keeping with my theme that reading about eating well will spurn me to eat better, I read "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable North American Appetite" by David Kessler. Since I've read quite a bit about food-related matters, a lot of the basic concepts in the book wasn't so new to me, although there certainly was a lot of extra detail I hadn't heard about. The author gives convincing evidence that the food industry has us all hooked on various combinations of salt, sugar, and fat, and details the science behind our addiction to these substances. Various animal studies show how large amouts of the bad stuff lead to addictive-like behaviour and overrules our internal biological mechanisms for self-regulation. One study that stood out for me was the addictive like behaviour of lab rats to junk food was on par with heroin. The author also outlines the extend of manipulation of the food industry to make processed food palatable in terms of consuming the most amount of food in the least amount of time. The last chapters deal with some techniques to deal with our overeating urges, which I often need when dealing with places selling chocolate gelato. Indeed, I most appreciated the first chapters, with spoke with people, both obese and thin, who felt that all the challenges of life paled in comparison to resisting a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. I can relate! 336 Amazon.com reviewers gave this book an average of 4.5 stars.