End of Overeating Intro – Dr. David Kessler

The End of Overeating was released in 2009 and led to a number of news stories and interviews. I purchased it in 2010 and have read and absorbed it over the intervening years. As those who read this blog are probably aware, I don’t rush to review the latest thing. When I decide to write about something, it tends to be more in depth and after a period of time.

I want to begin this series with a brief introduction of Dr. David Kessler. He’s both a doctor and a lawyer — which is a significant achievement in and of itself. He was also the Commissioner of the FDA from 1990-1997, first appointed by President George H.W. Bush and later reappointed by President Clinton.

The content of the book and the collection of the science behind it was researched and developed over the course of seven years spurred by a desire to discover what drove people to eat to excess — even when they reported that they hated themselves for doing so. And specifically, what has changed over the past fifty years to make us significantly heavier as a population?

Dr. Kessler introduces the book with a simple statement: You are the target. It’s not accidental, even if those producing our modern highly palatable foods know little or nothing about the neuroscience behind their creations. Those foods are designed to create repeat customers.

In 2009, Dr. Kessler gave a talk at Google. It’s an interesting presentation and covers some of the highlights of the book. His talk is worth the time it takes to watch.