Putting obesity out of business

I thought this might be pertinent to those who think that fast food
advertising ($10B) might be an ineffective cause of obesity.

Putting obesity out of business
By Ellen Goodman *|* July 24, 2009
.. . . Ashtrays that once graced every airline armrest, coffee table, and
office have gone the way of spittoons. Today the car¹s cigarette lighter
is used to juice up the cellphone. Ask any restaurant for the smoking
section, and you¹ll be shown the doorway.
If I had to pick the year attitudes changed, it would be 1994, when
seven CEOs of Big Tobacco came before Congress and swore that nicotine
wasn¹t addictive. A lobby too big to fail and too powerful to oppose
began to lose clout. Smokers are no longer seen as sexy and glamorous
but as the addicted dupes. . .

Kessler is a scientist, not a conspiracy theorist. He takes you to an
industry meeting where a food scientist on a panel called Simply
Irresistible offers tips on spiking the food to make people keep eating.
We eat more when more is on the plate. We eat more when snacks are
ubiquitous, when flavors are layered on and marketed as eatertainment.
As one food executive admitted to Kessler, Everything that has made us
successful as a company is the problem.
Sometimes it seems that our consumer society sets up the same conflict
again and again. Sophisticated marketing campaigns hard-sell everything
from sex and cigarettes to the 1,010-calorie Oreo Chocolate Sundae Shake
at Burger King. And were told to stay abstinent or tobacco-free or
skinny by resisting them. We are even promised Guiltless Grill entrees
at Chilis that can weigh in at almost 750 calories and are only
guilt-free when compared with the Texas cheese fries that tip the scales
at 1,920 calories. . .

The honchos at McDonalds may never confess how the Big Mac made us
bigger, and the food scientists at Frito-Lay may not explain why we cant
eat just one potato chip. But maybe this will be the year when an entree
of chicken quesadillas with bacon, mixed cheese, ranch dressing, and
sour cream - 1,750 calories - begins to look just a little bit more like
an ashtray.
--

- Billy

Racial injustice, war, urban blight, and environmental rape have a common denominator in our exploitative economic system.* ~Channing E. Phillips

Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Land
http://i2.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/headlines#7


http://i2.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/headlines#7

Billy wrote:
I thought this might be pertinent to those who think that fast food
advertising ($10B) might be an ineffective cause of obesity.

Putting obesity out of business
By Ellen Goodman | July 24, 2009
. .
If I had to pick the year attitudes changed, it would be 1994, when
seven CEOs of Big Tobacco came before Congress and swore that nicotine
wasn¹t addictive. A lobby too big to fail and too powerful to oppose
began to lose clout. Smokers are no longer seen as sexy and glamorous
but as the addicted dupes. . .

Kessler is a scientist, not a conspiracy theorist. He takes you to an
industry meeting where a food scientist on a panel called Simply
Irresistible offers tips on spiking the food to make people keep eating.
We eat more when more is on the plate. We eat more when snacks are
ubiquitous, when flavors are layered on and marketed as eatertainment.
As one food executive admitted to Kessler, Everything that has made us
successful as a company is the problem.
Sometimes it seems that our consumer society sets up the same conflict
again and again. Sophisticated marketing campaigns hard-sell everything
from sex and cigarettes to the 1,010-calorie Oreo Chocolate Sundae Shake
at Burger King. And were told to stay abstinent or tobacco-free or
skinny by resisting them. We are even promised Guiltless Grill entrees
at Chilis that can weigh in at almost 750 calories and are only
guilt-free when compared with the Texas cheese fries that tip the scales
at 1,920 calories. . .

The honchos at McDonalds may never confess how the Big Mac made us
bigger, and the food scientists at Frito-Lay may not explain why we cant
eat just one potato chip. But maybe this will be the year when an entree
of chicken quesadillas with bacon, mixed cheese, ranch dressing, and
sour cream - 1,750 calories - begins to look just a little bit more like
an ashtray.

========== FOOD REHAB ===============================

I have Kessler's book "The End of Overeating" and I recommend it highly
to anyone who is overweight and trying to get control of their eating.

He lays out a good basis for why our processed foods are so easy to eat
and enjoy, and become habitual. They are engineered or designed that way
to maximize the profits of the food industry. Among other ways to make
money is to sell lots of product, and there is competition to have food
with greatest rewards for the customer that keep them coming back.

The last part of his book is devoted to the topic of "Food Rehab" - or
how to develop the skills and habits that lead to a change in eating
habits that assist the dieter to develop new eating habits.

It is not a diet....

It might be called "tips for successful dieting".

I have noticed a change in my attitude towards foods just from reading
the book. I am rereading it for reinforcement, and doing some careful
highlighting and note taking.

While I lost 75 pounds on the Atkins diet, and currently stand having
gianed back 10 of those after about 4 years, I do want to go on to lose
more weight, and this will greatly strengthen the power of the low carb
diet because it will make avoing "trigger foods" (he uses the term
resisting cued behavior) much easier.

Incidentlally, Dr. Kessler shares something with the departed Dr.
Atkins. They both embarked on their research into food and diet because
of personal weight problems. Kessler says that he has "owned suits of
nerly every imaginable size" and has done the weight Yo-Yo for years.

I wish you all to find reinforcement to stay on whatever diet plan you
have selected, and that you can find knowledge and support to help you
succeed.