Canned cheeseburgers and food addiction

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The discussion centers around the growing concern over junk food consumption and its addictive qualities, as highlighted in Dr. David Kessler's book, "The End of Overeating." Kessler argues that the combination of fat, salt, and sugar in food activates brain pathways linked to addiction, leading to overeating. Participants express concerns about portion sizes, noting that what was once considered a meal for a family is now served as a single portion, contributing to obesity. The conversation touches on societal perceptions of food consumption, where large portions are often seen as masculine, despite the negative health implications. There is also speculation about the role of nutrient deficiencies in overeating, as individuals may consume excessive calories without receiving adequate nutrition. The thread emphasizes the modern availability of high-calorie food and its impact on eating habits, alongside a critique of cultural attitudes towards food consumption and body image.
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In light of a report on The NewsHour tonight, on PBS, this incidental story about canned cheeseburgers seemed like a nice opening.

http://www.gizmag.com/pictures/lrg_img//8713_27010831227.jpg
http://www.gizmag.com/the-canned-cheeseburger--fast-food-in-the-wilderness/8713/

In his book, The End of Overeating, Dr. David Kessler explores his findings about junk food and why we eat it. He argues that for many people, fat, salt, and sugar activate the brain in such a way that they are being programmed for addiction. As the retail junk/fast food companies learn to maximize the desirability of their products, they are also maximizing the addictiveness of their products.

A full report should be available soon. For now there is only an audio feed.
http://newshour-tc.pbs.org/newshour/rss/media/2009/06/16/20090616_overeating.mp3

News page
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
 
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Canned cheeseburger?

Ok I think the line has been crossed, time for the Earth to be engulfed by the Sun.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
In light of a report on The NewsHour tonight, on PBS, this incidental story about canned cheeseburgers seemed like a nice opening.

http://www.gizmag.com/pictures/lrg_img//8713_27010831227.jpg
http://www.gizmag.com/the-canned-cheeseburger--fast-food-in-the-wilderness/8713/

In his book, The End of Overeating, Dr. David Kessler explores his findings about junk food and why we eat it. He argues that for many people, fat, salt, and sugar activate the brain in such a way that they are being programmed for addiction. As the retail junk/fast food companies learn to maximize the desirability of their products, they are also maximizing the addictiveness of their products.

That's a give. What are the substances that these companies secret into their food that makes them so conducive to a population sporting 20 exra pounds and muffin tops?

I've been asking for a couple years now, thinking it must be a concoction of horrid chemical
additives hords of chemical engineers and focus groups have discovered over the decades that they are under no obligation to report. Only within the last week have I stumbled across what I surmise is the answer.

But I want to hear it from someone else first.
 
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According to Kessler, the magic ingredients are salt, fat, and sugar. It is an issue of proportion. We all know that too much of these ingredients is bad, but he is arguing that the effect of eating too much of these is fundamental - neurological.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
It is an issue of proportion.

I think that's the big issue. People have lost all sense of proportion or portions. Portions that would have fed a family of 4 when I was a kid are now being served up as single-servings. I don't know that I would call the overeating an addiction, per se, though. For some it might be, if they get cravings soon after just having a meal. But I think for most it's more that they just don't get the signal to stop when they've had a reasonable portion size and as long as there's more food in front of them, will continue eating. That's a bit different than forming a chemical dependency where you actively seek more and more and develop tolerance to the positive effects so need more to get the same pleasure.
 
If I understood his argument and findings correctly, he is saying that for some people, it is like forming a chemical dependency. He struggles with this himself and wanted to understand why. But he seems to apply it in a more general sense as well - perhaps to a far lesser degree than in cases like his.
 
Maybe for some. I'd suspect those some might be the ones who are using food for non-nutritive purposes, such as comfort eating when depressed.

Though, considering that you can be both obese and nutrient-deficient at the same time due to eating a lot of high calorie foods that lack a proper balance of vitamins, I wonder could it instead just be that they are still craving the missing nutrients, and overeat because their food choices just aren't providing them?
 
Just think of what it actually means to have a McDonalds near you. It means that at any instant during the day, you can decide you want to get a very large amount of calories. All that you need is to pay a few dollars and you have more than enough food. A few dollars is absolutely nothing if you're middle class in the US. Food on demand, what a concept! In previous times, in order to get the same amount of calories you would need to have hours of solid work. Now a wave of the hand gets you whatever you need.

The idea of having an effectively unlimited amount of food at your disposal is very new.

One thing that's a bit messed up in society is that it's "manly" to eat huge portions, yet we look down upon having a gut. People give me looks when I order a normal portion of food as opposed to something obscenely gigantic. Friends every now and then say things like "are you sure that's enough food?", uhh yeah thanks, I know what I'm eating. Then afterward they say things such as "oh man I shouldn't have eaten so much". Oh really??

EDIT: I should add that I really am eating enough. I'm 5'8" and weigh 158 or so, I'm obviously not anorexic by any means.
 
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That's true. Some people look at me all weird if I'm not stuffing my face with food at an all you can eat.

I eat a lot of food though. All my food is filled with fat and salt mainly.
 
  • #10
Moonie I hope you will correct me if I am wrong here.

I have heard that it is supposed humans were scavengers, that food sources were relatively scarce, and so the foods most densely packed with the nutrients needed for survival were preferred since there was no telling how much food you might find and how long it would be before you might find more. This supposedly explains why humans developed a preference and pleasurable response to fatty foods. We need salts to remain hydrated (I'm not sure if there are other important reasons for salt in our diet) and I am not sure of any benefit of sugars but fruits and berries which usually contain a lot of sugar are also dense in vitamins among other things.
 
  • #11
An interesting aside: Check out the bio on Kessler. Apparently he was running a hospital while teaching law!

David Aaron Kessler (born May 13, 1951 in New York, New York) is an American pediatrician, lawyer, author, and administrator (both academic and governmental). He was the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990 to February 28, 1997...

After graduating from Amherst College in 1973, Kessler studied medicine at Harvard University, graduating with an M.D. degree in 1979, and law at the University of Chicago, graduating with a J.D. in 1978.[1] While serving his residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, he worked as a consultant to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah, particularly on issues relating to the safety of food additives, and on the regulation of cigarettes and tobacco. From 1984-1990, Kessler simultaneously ran a 431-bed teaching hospital in New York City and taught at the Columbia Law School and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Aaron_Kessler
 

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