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1-Page Summary of The End of Overeating

Overview

In The End of Overeating (2009) by Dr. David A. Kessler, the author explains that many Americans cannot resist their impulse to eat a lot of processed foods and regret it later because they are not healthy choices.

In 1994, Katherine Flegal published a study that found that more Americans are overweight than in previous decades. She also found that the heaviest people were gaining the most weight and entering adulthood at higher weights. This led to questions by medical professionals about why these changes were taking place.

Fast food became more popular in the 20 years before Flegal’s study was published. This increased popularity was due to a faster-paced culture and people eating out more often. The food industry tried to make money by designing and marketing foods that would compel consumers to eat them frequently, even when they were sick of them.

The food industry has been using sensory stimulation to make foods more appealing. They have discovered that people eat more when they are presented with certain items on a menu and the ingredients that go into them. There is science behind why this happens, but it’s not just about what goes into the food—it’s also about how it’s presented.

According to Robert Smith, a retired vice president at Nabisco, there should be multiple layers of pleasurable sensations in food. This will make the brain want more and more stimulation. Modern technology has helped restaurants profit because they can process food so that it’s consistent and easy to produce quickly. The packaging of industrial foods suggests that these items are fun, relieve stress, lift depression, and offer an affordable treat. Just seeing or hearing about fast-food logos or jingles can trigger memories of happy experiences with those products which makes people crave them even more regularly than before. If people consistently respond to all stimuli related to fast-food over time, then they form habits like “conditioned hypereating.”

To resist the temptation of junk food, it’s important to know what a healthy portion size is. It’s also vital to relearn the pleasure and satisfaction of naturally nutritious foods. Finally, we need to determine where temptation lies and have a plan for avoiding triggering undesired behavior. Self-regulation by unique rules and alternative rewards can control conditioned hypereating.

Each person should be the first line of defense for his or her own health. As a society, Americans should also get behind regulation and education on food labeling and marketing in order to regain control over their eating habits.

Book Structure

Kessler’s writing is vivid and clear. He presents his theory, explains it with research, and supports it with personal accounts. The book is dense but compelling because he intersperses quotes from experts in the food industry to make his points. His descriptions are mouth-watering but also disgusting at times because of all the chemicals used in processed foods that make them so flavorful. As a doctor, Kessler goes on to prescribe steps to cure this disease (obesity).

About the Author

Kessler is a pediatrician who was commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He also has a law degree, which he uses to help people understand how companies are taking advantage of them and their children with food products that make us overeat. The book does not call out specific companies or individuals for being greedy or evil; it simply shows why they do what they do so we can stop it ourselves without having to rely on government regulation every time we go shopping for groceries.