Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Kessler surveys the world of modern industrial food production and distribution as reflected in both restaurants and grocery stores. To his chagrin, he finds that the system foists on the American public foods overloaded with fats, sugars, and salt. Each of these elements, consumed in excess, has been linked to serious long-term health problems. Kessler examines iconic foods such as Cinnabon and Big Macs, all of which have skilled marketing machines promoting consumption. Such nutritionally unbalanced foods propel people who already tend to eat more than mere physical need might otherwise warrant into uncontrolled behavior patterns of irrational eating. These persistent psychological and sensory stimuli lead to what Kessler terms conditioned hypereating, which he believes is a disease rather than a failure of willpower. There is hope, however. Kessler identifies the cues that lead to overeating and offers some simple, practical tools to help control one's impulses.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2009 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

"Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw," says Kessler, former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush and Clinton). Here Kessler (A Question of Intent) describes how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body's self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Through the evidence of research, personal stories (including candid accounts of his own struggles) and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains, Kessler explains how the desire to eat-as distinct from eating itself-is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar. Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar. A gentle though urgent plea for reform, Kessler's book provides a simple "food rehab" program to fight back against the industry's relentless quest for profits while an entire country of people gain weight and get sick. According to Kessler, persistence is all that is needed to make the perceptual shifts and find new sources of rewards to regain control. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Verdict: A cogent analysis of the American obsession with food and Americans' propensity to overeat. Recommended for most public libraries. Background: Former FDA commissioner Kessler (Question of Intent) argues that Americans have been conditioned to overeat; food has become a particularly powerful taste reward-the author reveals how the food industry uses sugar, fat, and salt levels to increase palatability (and keep people eating more). The last part of the book contains a framework to escape "conditioned hypereating" with a food rehab program.-Dana Ladd, Community Health Education Ctr., Tompkins-McCaw Lib. for the Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth Univ. Libs. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this captivating book on why we overeat and what we can do about it, pediatrician and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Kessler (A Question of Intent) incorporates a healthy balance of scientific research and personal anecdotes. He addresses the allure and preponderance of foods rich in sugar, salt, and fat, examines the psychological and sensory forces driving excessive food consumption, and speaks to how we can change our view of and approach to food. Adroitly read by Blair Hardman, this accessible and excellent-quality production will appeal to those seeking materials about dieting, weight loss, metabolism, and lifestyle changes.-Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

"When we want so badly to say 'no,' why do we continue to reach for food?" Thanks to Kessler, the elusive key to overindulgence is finally elucidated in this user-friendly guide to healthy eating that finds the food and advertising industries guilty for catalyzing an American "obsession" with food and "reward-eating." Narrated by Blair Hardman, the guide is a straightforward, moderately entertaining listen, as the modest delivery will appeal to a wide range of listeners. Hardman's voice is at once involved and genuine, refreshingly free of sanctimony, and ably sidesteps the monotony to which so many nonfiction audio books are particularly susceptible. A Rodale hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 2). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A pediatrician claims that overeating is caused by the way our bodies and minds are changed when we eat foods that contain sugar, fat, and salt. (LJ Xpress Reviews, 4/13/09) (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.