Journal #3: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

In this portion of the book, Kessler continues on explaining why people are fat. A big part of why we eat is motivated by the brain; it’s a psychological battle, not just a matter of whether we are hungry or not. There are three main components of the brain, in addition to hunger signals, that make us want to eat more. The first is neurons. When we eat, neurons put off signals that make us want to eat more. The second is opiods. Opiods activate pleasure. So when we eat foods that taste and smell good, have a good texture, or signal a happy memory, we want to eat more. And more. Whether we are hungry or not. And the final component is dopamine. Dopamine is what motivates us to food. If we smell Chinese food in the mall, dopamine is what makes us pursue it. Dopamine is what makes multi-sensory (ex. sweet AND salty) foods that much more rewarding. Dopamine is also what conditions us to food. Kessler discusses the traditional study of Pavlov’s dogs. Pavlov rang a bell every time he fed his dogs. Eventually, when Pavlov would ring the bell, even if the dogs were not given food, they salivated. The dogs had become conditioned to the food, or as Kessler defined, “incentive salience: the desire, activated by cues, for something that predicts reward.” Ultimately, dopamine is what causes eating to become a habit.

The main take-home lesson from the effects of dopamine is, as Kessler writes, “Rewarding foods are rewiring our brains. As they do, we become more sensitive to the cues that lead us to anticipate rewarding foods.... [People] cannot control their responses to highly palatable foods because they have been changed by the foods they eat.”

As I’m sure I’ll read once I get deeper into the book, the only solution is to practice eating with conscious. As Kessler showed, humans are prone to keep eating, and keep eating, and keep eating. It’s hardwired into the brain, on so many levels. Is there a way to stop the brain from developing habits that make the body yearn for food? Doubtful. So, it’s clearly up to the consumer to resist succumbing to what the brain wants it to do. The consumer needs to activate the other aspects of the brain, the ones that say, “STOP! You aren’t hungry.” That, or researchers and scientists must develop a substance that can eliminate the effects of dopamine and other food-related chemicals in the brain.

Journal #2: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

In the first 30 pages of David Kessler’s nonfiction book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, he explains why America’s obesity and overweight rates have spiked in the past 30 years. There’s only one reason why the body gains weight; this can be seen by countless studies that demonstrate that those who eat more weigh more. It’s a direct correlation.

People want to place blame of their overeating on something else. They may blame their bodies for not maintaining a proper homeostatic system (compensates for calories consumed). But the truth is, blame cannot be placed on just one thing. The body wants to eat. It especially wants to eat foods that are extra palatable and appetising. To create a food that is extra palatable, three key food categories are necessary: sugar, fat, and salt. The combination of the three is addictive. Once the consumer takes one bite, he or she will continue to eat, whether they are hungry or not.

Kessler wrote of one reason why it’s becoming harder and harder for American’s to resist overeating: restaurants and food manufacturers continue to create foods that are increasingly palatable.

Kessler did not, however, mention that food is generally becoming more available now. Before it was a constant struggle for eating; now that food is cheaper to make, it is more available, and people immediately snatch up any opportunity to eat. In addition, life now revolves around food. Going on a date refers to going out to dinner. Going to see a movie with a friend turns into, “Who’s going to pay for the popcorn and candy?” And even food manufacturers that appear to be contributing to the prevention of obesity are at fault. For instance, brands that are considered “healthy” are beginning to promote unhealthy eating behavior. Yoplait is now making decadently flavored yogurt. This subconsciously makes the consumer believe that the original form of the decadent food is also healthy, which certainly isn’t accurate.
There is no branch of the food industry that is off the hook, other than, perhaps, the produce industry.

Journal #1: French Women Don't Get Fat

Although the book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, is classified as a diet book, it is far from it. It doesn’t follow the stereotypical formula of:

1. Are you really fat?

2. Here’s the completely limiting diet (that we don’t tell you but you will fall off of after 2 weeks)

3. Exercise this much and the pounds will melt off.

4. YAY! Now you’re skinny.

French Women Don’t Get Fat is realistic. It doesn’t actually discuss a specific diet. Instead, it explains an eating lifestyle, one for you to stick with your entire life in order to maintain satiety and satisfaction from food AND maintain a healthy weight.

The French author writes of having gone on an extended trip to America where she gains (a lot of) weight. She writes, “The American way of eating got to my head and opened me up to the dangers of this delicious Parisian minefield” (22). In America, she developed unhealthy habits of eating too much and becoming addicted to sugar. (Which I learned from all my other sources is not uncommon—sugar is an addictive substance). Thus, when she returned to France, she couldn’t control herself from eating French delicacies that she had been able to control herself from eating before she went to America. With the help of “Dr. Miracle” she got back on track and rediscovered the “French way to eat,” and ever since has stayed slim, while not limiting herself from any single food.

Her secret? Variety and portion control. By enjoying all types of foods, she never gets sick of a single one, thus never getting to the point where she binges on an “untouchable” food (the reason most Americans are overweight).

Her main trick, however, is portion control. The first few bites of food taste the best. So, the French eat these first few bites, savor them, and move on, never leaving the table feeling stuffed. In addition, each meal is made up of multiple courses, which further encourages only eating a few bites so as to also enjoy the other courses. Finally, the French stagger their meals; a common American thing to do is to fast all through the morning and afternoon, then chow down at night. This is an unhealthy way of eating because it makes the body’s metabolism slow down, then not be able to compensate for the large load of food later eaten.

If Americans could conquer these issues of self-control, the obesity epidemic would disappear... we could all be healthy AND happy with our diets, just like the French.