The End of Overeating

“Dr. David Kessler has written a fascinating account of the science of human appetite, as well as its exploitation by the food industry. The End of Overeating is an invaluable contribution to the national conversation about the catastrophe that is the modern American diet.”—Michael Pollan, author of How to Change Your Mind “David Kessler’s fascinating book is essential for anyone interested in learning more about how corporate greed and human psychology have created a national health crisis.”—Alice Waters, chef and owner of Chez Panisse “Disturbing, thought-provoking, and important.”—Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential “Fascinating . . . an exploration of us . . . we begin to think differently about food and take back control of our eating habits.”—The New York Times “Both a thinking person’s diet book and an investigation into an industry that wants us to eat more.”—Ellen Goodman, The Boston Globe “In clear and simple prose, [Dr. Kessler] shows how the modern food industry has invented ‘hyperpalatable’ foods.”—Financial Times “A wide-ranging look at eating habits [that] addresses America’s ever-increasing waistlines.”—The Wall Street Journal “Groundbreaking”—USA Today “In perversely fascinating detail, Kessler . . . reveals how industrial chefs engineered . . . ‘hyperpalatable’ concoctions undreamed of in any traditional cuisine.”—The New York Times Book Review “[The End of Overeating] is like a fun-house journey through the food industry.”—Michele Norris, former host of NPR’s All Things Considered “In The End of Overeating, Dr. Kessler explains how humans, much like Pavlov’s dogs, become hardwired to anticipate foods with fat, sugar, and salt.”—HuffPost “Kessler was on a mission to understand a problem that has vexed him since childhood: why he can’t resist certain foods. His resulting theory . . . is startling.”—The Washington Post “Does the world really need yet another book about how to lose weight? It does, if that book happens to be written by a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration . . . This is no ordinary diet book.”—New Scientist “If Kessler’s encouraging words don’t prod Americans into new habits, the shock therapy of learning what we’re really consuming likely will.”—New York Post “We’re up against forces—highly addictive foods, neurological drives, and a savvy food industry—that dwarf our resolve. It’s like fighting a 21st-century war with sticks and rocks, hoping we can somehow will ourselves to victory.”—The Washington Times “Kessler’s message is important: The problem is not only the behavior of profit-driven food companies, but also the daily choices that each one of us makes.”—Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation “A compelling book about overeating and the obesity pandemic. Dr. Kessler thoroughly examines the nature of our relationship with food and why it is critical to understand and modify our behavior to reverse this global threat to health and well-being.”—David Satcher, former Surgeon General and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention