Article- Crave Man in The Washington Post

My brother-in-law has a link to this article on his Facebook profile. It's a a good read. I have cut and pasted what I thought were the most critical insights...


Crave Man
David Kessler Knew That Some Foods Are Hard to Resist; Now He Knows Why
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 27, 2009
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."... Instead of satisfying hunger, the salt-fat-sugar combination will stimulate that diner's brain to crave more, Kessler said. ...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. ...Now I know, we have the science that shows, we're eating to stimulate ourselves...."Highly palatable" foods -- those containing fat, sugar and salt -- stimulate the brain to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center, he found. In time, the brain gets wired so that dopamine pathways light up at the mere suggestion of the food, such as driving past a fast-food restaurant, and the urge to eat the food grows insistent. Once the food is eaten, the brain releases opioids, which bring emotional relief. Together, dopamine and opioids create a pathway that can activate every time a person is reminded about the particular food. This happens regardless of whether the person is hungry....Not everyone is vulnerable to "conditioned overeating" -- Kessler estimates that about 15 percent of the population is not affected and says more research is needed to understand what makes them immune..Deprivation only heightens the way the brain values the food, which is why dieting doesn't work, he said. ..

Kessler is best remembered for his investigation of the tobacco industry and attempts to place it under federal regulation while he was FDA commissioner from 1990 to 1997. David Kessler researched part of "The End of Overeating" by diving into dumpsters behind restaurants to look for the nutritional labels of menu items high in fat, salt and sugar. (By Eric Risberg -- Associated Press) "My weight was yo-yoing all the time," said Kessler, who estimates that 70 million Americans struggle with conditioned hyper-eating. "And I never understood why."