The end of overeating : taking control of the insatiable North American appetite

Kessler, David A. 1951- (Author).

Summary: Most of us know what it feels like to fall under the spell of food - a 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 this happens. When we want so badly to say "no," why do we continue to reach the food? 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 salt. He presents ground-breaking research from top scientists and physicians, as well as a controversial view inside the food industry - revealing how it has hijacked the brains of millions of North Americans by creating an endless cycle of craving and consumption. For the millions of people struggling with weight as well as for those of us who simply don't understand why we can't seem to stop eating, this bestselling book offers new insights and helpful solutions. There has never been a more thorough, compelling, or in-depth analysis of why we eat the way we do -- Book sleeve.

Record details

ISBN: 9780771095535
ISBN: 0771095538
Physical Description: print
xviii, 324 p. ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, c2009.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction: You are the target -- Sugar, fat, salt -- Something changed...North American gained weight -- Overriding the wisdom of the body -- Sugar, fat, and salt make us eat more sugar, fat, and salt -- The business of food: Creating highly rewarding stimuli -- Pushing up our settling points -- Sugar, fat, and salt are reinforcing -- Amping up the neurons -- We are wired to focus attention on the most salient stimuli -- Rewarding foods become hot stimuli -- Cues activate brain circuits that guide behavior -- Emotions make food memorable -- Rewarding foods rewire the brain -- Eating behavior becomes a habit -- The food industry -- A visit to chili's -- Cinnabon: A lesson in irresistibility -- That's entertainment -- The era of the monster thickburger -- No satisfaction -- Giving them what they like -- What consumers don't know -- The ladder of irresistibility -- The world's cuisine becomes americanized -- Nothing is real -- Optimize it! -- The science of selling -- Purple cows -- Overeating becomes more dangerous -- What weight-loss drugs can teach us -- Why we don't just say no -- How we become trapped -- Conditioned hypereating emerges -- Tracing the roots of conditioned hypereating -- Nature or nurture? -- Warning signs in children -- The culture of overeating -- Can Canada put on the brakes? -- The theory of treatment -- Invitations to the brain -- Reversing the habit -- Rules of disengagement -- Emotional learning -- Food rehab -- The treatment framework -- Planned eating -- Letting go of the past -- Eating is personal -- Avoiding traps: On obsession and relapse -- Making the critical perceptual shift -- The end of overeating -- "Our success is the problem" -- Industry cracks the code -- Fighting back -- A final word -- Endnotes -- List of author interviews -- Acknowledgements -- Index.
Target Audience Note:	Adult.