In today's New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope writes of former FDA chief Dr. David A. Kessler’s new book, “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.”: At the FDA, he accused cigarette makers of intentionally manipulating nicotine content to make their products more addictive. "Dr. Kessler finds some similarities in the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more.... [B]y combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full... [H]e offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named “bliss point.” Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt.” Results include “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily.” Read more.
