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The End of Overeating

The End of Overeating by David Kessler Penguin, HK$130

David Kessler wanted to understand what drove his food cravings for no-nos such as chocolate-chip cookies. His discoveries, confirmed by scientists, food manufacturers and restaurateurs, make for unpalatable, though essential, reading for anyone who can't help but eat processed foods and is thus overweight. Consuming foods high in sugar, fat and salt (SFS) makes us eat more of the same as 'bliss points' are reached and comestibles come to stimulate rather than satisfy. US fast-food chains take a grilling for techniques in optimising food that spur gluttony. Working out which combinations of SFS work best in 'amping up the neurons', these producers also increase profits by, for example, adding more breading to fried chicken, which increases the fat and makes the orders look bigger. Eliminating the need for chewing also allows faster consumption and 'conditioned hyper-eating', the loss of control when faced with palatable foods. Kessler, who was a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration and 'the man who took on the tobacco industry', is a touch repetitive. But The End of Overeating should curb appetites for readers who digest the facts within.

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