The End of Overeating

Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

By: David A. Kessler MD

Narrated by: Blair Hardman

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

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, now reveals how the food industry has hijacked the brains of millions of Americans. The result? America's number-one public health issue.

Dr. Kessler 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 met with top scientists, physicians, and food industry insiders.

The End of Overeatinguncovers the shocking facts about how we lost control over our eating habits - and how we can get it back. Dr. Kessler presents groundbreaking research, along with what is sure to be a controversial view inside the industry that continues to feed a nation of overeaters - from popular brand manufacturers to advertisers, chain restaurants, and fast-food franchises. 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 our favorite foods, Dr. Kessler's cutting-edge investigation offers new insights and helpful 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.

©2009 David A. Kessler, M.D. (P)2009 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

A Serious Subject

David Kessler's "The End of Overeating" is an informative and disturbing book. Since encounting this work, I cannot enter a restaurant with my old attitudes at all. Specifically, Kessler (a former FDA commissioner under Bush and Clinton) shows how salt, sugars, and fat are being integrated into processed food. Then he details how these three in concert can become addictive and stimulate pleasure centers in the brain. He argues that food processors take advantage of this situtation to keep customers coming back for more.

As one who struggles with my weight, this is one book that has given me a new way to look at what I am eating and (more importantly) a new motivation to further change my eating patterns. His discussion of the psychological and sensory stimuli that lead to what he labels "conditioned hypereating" can be avoided and he reveals just how that might be accomplished. This book is important to all Americans who want to live a healthier life.

The End of Overeating

This book really opened my eyes and helped me to thoroughly understand how we got into the mess we are in today with obesity. From the treatment of food to the way our brains work, this book doesn't leave a rock unturned. I feel it changed me forever and am eternally grateful I bought it.

Long winded...

The narration is great. The information is good. Too much time was focused on research findings and what this or that expert had to say to support the same handful of key points. These key points foscused on why we over eat. More time should have been spent on what to do about it.

enlightening...

This book is worth the read, or listen as the case may be. The information is enlightening and makes sense once you hear it. The challenge is to make the appropriate changes once you have the information. Five stars is probably over rating this, but just slightly. I want people to know it is worthwhile.

Opened my eyes!

This book has educated me on the big business of food companies and keeping us addicted. We need more awareness! This is killing Americans like every other addiction.

Great take on overeating.

This was a good read. Took a while to get to the point, but had a great message in the end on what causes us to overeat and how to minimize the behavior.

Very informative but very long

The book begins with an intriguing premise and it can be summed up in his basic thoughts and so on fat and sugar and salt on Sat but after you hear that a few times you want him to say something else and he doesn't after about the first two hours you've earned the entire book and you do not need to listen to the rest

The Food Industry Is Out To Get You

Very fascinating stuff. I enjoyed listening to the Science behind making food at restaurants and convenience items (pre-made at stores) more appealing by layering on additional fat, salt, and sugar, their form of the Trinity, I guess. You're better off eating Grandma's cookie recipe than Sally Field's. Make your stuff at home and save yourself some moolah and pant sizes.

For those that are SICK of dieting

Given his academic background, I was worried this might be too "dense" a read. Not so, it was a nice blend of science and anecdote, very entertaining and thought provoking. A must read for those that have struggled with weight and weight related health issues. His solutions for ending the cycle are not exactly revalatory. He does present compelling information to explain the explosion of weight gain in the US. I knew it was high fructose corn syrup!!

Intelligent and Compelling

The first book of this type I have ever listened to, but on hearing the sample, it captured my attention.

I found it to be fascinating. The knowledge about food, the food industry and most importantly about the way your brain works in regards to food stimulus is amazing. You can hardly listen to this book and not gain an 'awareness' concerning what and how much you eat. I like to call it "Food Mindfulness". Knowledge is power, so if you are a little short on personal power over food listen to this book and get it back!

The food industry wants to make money and really doesn't give a damn about you, just how much you eat of their food and how often you keep coming back for more. They have few restrictions on their advertising. It is our responsibility to gain the knowledge in a free society, and the author has gone to great lengths to assist us.

The narration was excellent for this type of book. Scientific studies pointing to the real truth is always a pleasure.