Former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler has been on the media circuit discussing his new book about the causes of excessive eating. His message is that the U.S.'s problem with obesity results from a surfeit of "hyper-palatable," high-caloric density foods laden with fat, sugar, and/or salt. This type of food has the ability to "hijack" certain neural circuitry in our brains related to reward and conditions us to want to consume more for psychological (not nutritional) reasons.

The increasing marketing and consumption of these foods, he says, has been a major contributor to the meteoric rise in type II diabetes in the past decade and is particularly worrisome for its impact on children, where this sort of conditioning can set them up for life-long problems. Here are some links:

Washington Post (27 Apr 2009):
Crave Man
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602711.html

Wall Street Journal (28 Apr 2009):
The Science and Psychology Behind Overeating
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124084009832659309.html

Interview with Moira Gunn on Tech Nation (3 May 2009):
Our Brains on Food & Other Tales of Modern Life
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/moira-gunn/our-brains-on-food-other_b_194584.html

SF Bay area appearances, 8 May 2009:
http://events.marinij.com/san-francisco-ca/events/show/86657011-david-a-kessler-the-end-of-overeating
http://events.mercurynews.com/palo-alto-ca/events/show/86812149-david-kessler-presents-the-end-of-overeating

His book:
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-End-of-Overeating/David-A-Kessler/e/9781605297859