I think, after decades of rigorous scientific investigation, I think we'll come to find that a certain portion can be attributed to genetics, some to maternal effect, some to the way you were raised, some to your current environment, and the remaining vanishing fraction we can wave our hand over and call it "free will." It's a shame that people assume that this is a problem, and then attribute all of this "problem" to that catchall category of choice at the very end. Yes, some times there can be negative consequences associated with it, as with many other things, but it's generally not hurting you, and if it really is so much of a problem, as you put it, then being nasty to people is rarely an excellent solution to it.Try it: it is applicable to obesity, sexual orientation, and a number of other things people like to shout about.
I think, after decades of rigorous scientific investigation, I think we'll come to find that a certain portion can be attributed to genetics, some to maternal effect, some to the way you were raised, some to your current environment, and the remaining vanishing fraction we can wave our hand over and call it "free will." It's a shame that people assume that this is a problem, and then attribute all of this "problem" to that catchall category of choice at the very end. Yes, some times there can be negative consequences associated with it, as with many other things, but it's generally not hurting you, and if it really is so much of a problem, as you put it, then being nasty to people is rarely an excellent solution to it.posted by zenon at 7:12 AM on May 16, 2009 [4 favorites]
“....Kessler was on a mission to understand a problem that has vexed him since childhood: why he can't resist certain foods.posted by ericb at 2:17 PM on May 16, 2009 [22 favorites]
His resulting theory, described in his new book, ‘The End of Overeating,’ is startling. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar alter the brain's chemistry in ways that compel people to overeat. ‘Much of the scientific research around overeating has been physiology -- what's going on in our body,’ he said. ‘The real question is what's going on in our brain.’
The ingredient labels gave Kessler information the restaurant chain declined to provide when he asked for it. At the FDA, Kessler pushed through nutritional labels on foods sold through retail outlets but stopped short of requiring the same for restaurants. Yet if suppliers ship across state lines, as suppliers for Chili's do, the ingredients must be printed on the box. That is what led Kessler, one of the nation's leading public health figures, to hang around dumpsters across California.
The labels showed the foods were bathed in salt, fat and sugars, beyond what a diner might expect by reading the menu, Kessler said. The ingredient list for Southwestern Eggrolls mentioned salt eight different times; sugars showed up five times. The ‘egg rolls,’ which are deep-fried in fat, contain chicken that has been chopped up like meatloaf to give it a ‘melt in the mouth’ quality that also makes it faster to eat. By the time a diner has finished this appetizer, she has consumed 910 calories, 57 grams of fat and 1,960 milligrams of sodium.
Instead of satisfying hunger, the salt-fat-sugar combination will stimulate that diner's brain to crave more, Kessler said. For many, the come-on offered by Lay's Potato Chips -- ‘Betcha can't eat just one’ -- is scientifically accurate. And the food industry manipulates this neurological response, designing foods to induce people to eat more than they should or even want, Kessler found.
His theory, born out in a growing body of scientific research, has implications not just for the increasing number of Americans struggling with obesity but for health providers and policymakers.
‘The challenge is how do we explain to America what's going on -- how do we break through and help people understand how their brains have been captured?’ he said.
....Kessler, 57, sees parallels between the tobacco and food industries. Both are manipulating consumer behavior to sell products that can harm health, he said.
Whether government ought to exercise tougher controls over the food industry is going to be the next great debate, especially since much of the advertising is aimed at children, Kessler said.
‘The food the industry is selling is much more powerful than we realized,’ he said. ‘I used to think I ate to feel full. Now I know, we have the science that shows, we're eating to stimulate ourselves. And so the question is what are we going to do about it?’”
However, the dishonesty amongst some overweight people is really irritating. I see this ALL THE TIME when I go to lunch with heavyset coworkers, or have dinner with obese friends - they order heart-attacks-on-a-plate and then complain about not being able to lose weight. Jesus, just admit that you're not trying, would you? The hypocrisy is what gets under my skin.Judgey McJudgerson.
The underlying mental model for confrontation seems to be that “if you can just make people feel bad enough, they will change.” Confrontational strategies have been designed to make clients feel scared, ashamed, or humiliated, with the assumption that such experiences are curative. In the Woodall study, exit interviews with offenders leaving the MADD-VIP experience confirmed that in general they felt terrible about themselves: embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, guilty. The result was not less, but more drunk driving.Thanks for spelling out the emotional complexities around self-hatred and obsessive eating.
I can be grilled or even outright abused in emailok, this is getting to be outright ridiculous. can we please repost the fricking thing with retroactive permission from me, so we can all see how i abused poor little fff? it isn't fair for him to be able to suggest that i said anything abusive now that the original reposting is gone.
> In real life, I have gone out of my way to be "that friend" who was always there to reassure (genuinely; I really do think women can be attractive at any size and have photographed nudes from slim to full-figured) larger women that they were beautiful, feminine, etc. After many years of this, I've soured a bit as I've realized that at least half of these women were true "frenemies" to their "skinny bitch" friends like myself: at the same time I (and others) were reassuring them of how beautiful they were... they were the most ruthlessly critical and nasty women I knew in terms of calling thinner friends "butterfaces", "mannish looking", never complimenting anyone else dressed up for a girls' night out, gossiping about who was "aging badly", "slutty" or "desperate", etc.Do you hear yourself? You tout how you've gone out of your way to be "That Friend" -- as if being a friend to someone who is overweight is, like, a lifetime accomplishment or something. I mean, it's honestly laughable. You set everything there up in an us vs. them scenario, but then decry a double standard.
> I also have never, ever, ever heard one of my rail-thin girls comment on ANYONE's weight gain, and yet heavier women have no trouble dishing out the same "size shaming" they feel victimized by on a regular basis. And I don't want to hear comments or "jokes" on how sick/gross/unfeminine/etc. I look for being thin when I have genuinely been openminded about my own concept of feminine beauty and would never think to insult someone else's body type.
At 285 pounds, Cindy was certainly aware of her size, but felt hopeless about controlling her eating habits. She never felt satisfied by three meals and she’d often catch herself snacking on fatty fast food like fried chicken, McDonald’s fries or take-out pizza. She’d then top it off with a king-size Snickers bar. …And now se's controlling her eating habits and walking her ass off. Good on ya, Cindy!
But it wasn’t until she felt she was shortening her life that she finally decided to make a change. …Tired from being overmedicated … Cindy put on her sneakers and started walking.
4. Diets don’t work. No, really, not even if you don’t call them diets. If you want to tell me about how YOUR diet totally worked, do me a favor and wait until you’ve kept all the weight off for five years. Not one year, not four years, five years. And if you’ve kept it off for that long, congratulations. You’re literally a freak of nature.Thanks, Kate. I'm certain I appreciate being called a freak of nature as a reward for my efforts about as much as you enjoy any of the hate being thrown your way. electroboy, in another thread (I won't crosslink to avoid confusion) pointed out this article which makes it pretty clear that anyone looking to rationally discuss any subject at all would be well-advised to stay away from Kate Harding as backup. I'm not in the habit of discounting someone entirely because I disagree with their ideas or style of argument, but, good lord.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 3:35 AM on May 16, 2009 [2 favorites]