You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Elpis and Justice Exclusive’ category.
Dr. Kessler's new book explores the psychology and neurobiology of why we find processed food so irresistible.
I finally completed one task on my summer to do list. I finished David Kessler’s new book “The End of Overeating- Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.”
Dr. Kessler is the former commissioner of the FDA who worked on tobacco reform. His new book takes a step away from social determinants of obesity, such as poverty, and instead examines the interplay between the food industry and human psychology.
Kessler weaves together neuropsychology, addiction studies, and tales from food industry defectors to reveal how the food industry has hijacked our appetites for profit. Foods are crafted in a way to make them delicious yet unsatisfying- marketed to be constantly on our minds and never kept far from reach.
As a consequence we have created a culture of what Kessler terms “conditioned hypereating.” We consume pleasurable to eat, highly palatable foods at any time of the day, irrespective of appetite, and often fueled by emotion. Short chapters packed with high quality studies, which make for an extremely convincing argument.
Highlights:
Food scientists willingly admit they manipulate the fat, sugar, and salt content in processed foods to create irresistible concoctions. In a rat study where two strains, obesity prone and obesity resistant, were given unlimited access to hyper palatable mixtures of fat, sugar, and salt. Both strains uncontrollably gorged themselves and became obese.
Processed foods are created to be reinforcing, encouraging us to come back for more irrespective of if we’re full. A study done at UNC used a progressive ratio experiment- rats had to poke their noses in a hole an increasing number of times to get a reward of a fat/sugar mixture. The rats maxed out at fourteen rewards, which took them over an hour, and the last reward requiring seventy-seven nose pokes. The only other substance a rat will work that hard for is cocaine.
Emotional eating really does make you feel better. High fat/high sugar foods stimulate the release of opioids in the brain resulting in pain relief. Rats given unrestricted access to sucrose solutions feel less pain than those given opioid like drugs. When opioid receptors in the brain are blocked rats eat significantly fewer calories. Sucrose is a known analgesic for human newborns.
Your brain will not tire of eating the same processed snack foods. We do not become habituated to food- the hit of the feel good neurotransmitter dopamine does not decrease after repeated exposure. Rats given high fat, high sugar chocolate drinks continued to release high levels of dopamine after each ingestion, regardless of the number of times they were exposed. Similar responses are seen with cocaine use.
Chapter by chapter, study-by-study Kessler provides a scientific perspective on behaviors many of us find personal and embarrassing. I now understand why I, a person who loves healthy food, find Oreos completely irresistible, will eat the whole package, and still want more.
Food companies are exploiting these behaviors to sell billions of dollars worth of food that is sickening our nation.
Every snack food and chain restaurant dish has been concocted by food scientists, enhanced with flavorings, and tested by focus groups to ensure maximum irresistibility and minimize satiety. Conferences are held on how to optimize flavor. Chemists devise new formulas for additives to achieve what nature cannot. Advertisements are developed to keep food constantly on our minds. No wonder why willpower alone is often not enough to protect ourselves.
The end result? Items like Chili’s “Crispy Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers” which come in at a whopping 1,930 calories per serving! Applebees will only provide nutritional information on foods “where required by law.”
Kessler pulls away the veil, moving our anger from our inability to resist such foods, and towards an industry that is profiting at our expense.
At the conclusion of the book Kessler implores the food industry to use it’s research and production capacity to make foods that satisfy us without the unnecessary calories. Readers are given some tips, many derived from addiction studies, on how to readjust our relationship with food.
I found the book to be a fascinating scientific perspective on the obesity epidemic, but written to be accessible to the average reader. The book did drag at a few points. Kessler sometimes provides too many details which confuse his points rather than reinforce them. Despite these complaints, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the neural roots of our love affair with processed foods.
For more information:
Interested in counting calories? Daily Plate or Everyday Health provide good resources
Links to nutritional information of major food chains listed here
Michelle Obama addressing Unity staff and clients. In the lower left is Jessica Wallace- program coordinator for We Can. Top left- a photo I took during one of our classes. Photo by Unity.
Michelle Obama- the first place you visited in DC was a health center, then you planted an organic garden on the White House lawn, to top things off you appeared on my favorite childhood show, Sesame Street, to deliver a public health message.
I wondered how you could make me happier.
Well- now you’ve done it. On June 29 Mrs. Obama came to Upper Cardozo Health Center, a FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) filled with dedicated professionals devoted to serving DC residents, especially the Latino population.
Here she announced FQHCs like Upper Cardozo would receive $851 million to “address immediate and pressing health center facility and equipment needs and increase access to health care for millions of Americans.”
Upper Cardozo alone will receive $2.5 million to build 20 (much needed) exam rooms to reach %24 more patients. Currently Upper Cardozo’s staff provide a phenomenal level of care in a very cramped space in Columbia Heights.
Michelle also learned about Upper Cardozo’s “We Can” program, the intervention I’ve been assisting with under the direction of project coordinator and physician assistant Jessica Wallace.
“We Can” is a public health program developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that incorporates the entire family in reducing childhood obesity. Two of the women in the photo are program participants.
At Upper Cardozo’s “We Can” program we provide weekly classes where families learn to change to healthier habits, such as:
- Restricting soda intake
- Switching from whole milk to skim
- Enjoying a minimum of one hour of physical activity a day
- Portion control
- Limiting “screen time” to one hour a day
At class families enjoy healthy snacks, take part in fun activities like Capoeira, and learn about healthy living. Nurses help participants track their blood pressure, BMI, and weight through the sessions.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of Ms Wallace and the other Upper Cardozo staff, the program has continued to increase in participation and popularity.
Childhood obesity is one of Michelle’s issues has been taking on while in the White House. Although I wasn’t there for her visit, those in attendance at the meeting enjoyed her warm presence. One of the programs youth participants, Christian, even received a hug from Mrs. Obama for his 15th birthday.
In the field of public health we are often fighting an uphill battle. The “We Can” program provides a positive atmosphere for addressing and combating the childhood obseity epidemic. The stimulus bill includes one billion for programs addressing prevention and wellness. Mrs. Obama’s visit further energized the dedicated participants and staff who support “We Can.”
Thank you Mrs. Obama for thinking locally and taking the time to see the great work going on at DC’s Upper Cardozo Health Center! Hope to see you at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new exam rooms!
For More Information:
Learn how the stimulus will be used for health centers here
Fun and interesting blog on the “Obama Foodscape” here
Read the White House press release here
Read the First Lady’s remarks here
See more photos from the special day here
Contrary to the claims of The Daily Campus, community health centers do provide preventative services. Photo by Jenny Downing under the Creative Commons License.
In March of this year, President Obama released funds for 126 new community health centers (FQHCs). For many, especially those of us who are passionate about the elimination of health inequities, this was a cause to celebrate.
However, after a commentary was published in The Daily Campus titled “An ounce of prevention is worth $12,000 in treatment” by Teddy Burger, it seems there is some confusion as to what community health centers do, specifically Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC).
The article criticizes the Connecticut Community Health Centers, a FQHC, for not providing preventative treatment to their clients. “These centers have literally no preventative services for chronic illness.” The author proposes to solve this problem by expanding the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
Well, I’m always for giving public health departments more money… except that health centers DO provide preventative services and specifically Connecticut Community Health Centers, run by Optimus Healthcare, are already partnered with the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
After speaking with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, they confirmed an ongoing partnership, that includes funding, with the community health centers.
The author was concerned under and uninsured Bridgeport residents were not getting preventative care for cardiovascular disease. Except they are.
Optimus CVD Program Goal for 2004-2010:
“To contribute to the reduction of CVD morbidity and mortality among adult minority populations in Bridgeport, Stamford and Stratford by providing primary health care services that include CVD screening, risk factor assessment, prevention education, and other clinical intervention measures”
A study done by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (not associated with Kaiser Permanente) showed:
“Medicaid and uninsured patients served in health centers are more likely to receive preventive services such as counseling on diet, smoking cessation, and alcohol consumption, than in other practice settings.”
Mr. Burger’s proposed solution to expand the prevention efforts of the Connecticut Department of Public Health would be helpful, except this partnership with Optimus already exists. Optimus also has a number of other community and government partnerships devoted to improving the health of the Bridgeport community including:
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- CT Department of Children and Families
- CT Department of Social Services
- SW CT Agency of Aging
- City of Bridgeport
- Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition
- Center for Women and Families
- Shelter for the Homeless, Inc.
In addition, the Connecticut Community Health Centers have the honor of being a member of the Health Disparities Collaborative whose mission is to:
“To improve access to high quality, culturally and linguistically competent primary and preventive care for underserved, uninsured, and underinsured Americans”
Also, the statement: “providers receive reimbursement from public funds primarily for treatment of acute and urgent problems, not for prevention” is also false. Health center budgets are 30% public funds. According to the HRSA Uniform Data System- which houses data for Community Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, etc- all preventative services are paid for in part by public funds.
Percent of prevention activities related to CVD offered and paid for by Connecticut health centers:
- 100% of blood pressure monitoring
- 60% of weight reduction programs
- 90% of cholesterol screening
Even though FQHCs provide a diverse array of preventative, chronic, and acute care- they still save tax payers money.
- Medical expenses are 41% lower for FQHC patients- in part to their reduced dependence on emergency rooms
- FQHCs save the medical system $9.9 and $17.6 billion annually
- They also empower the communities they serve by providing 143,000 jobs and requiring their boards be comprised of 51% or more of active clinic patients
Community Health Centers are not emergency rooms. The Connecticut Community Health Center keeps to its mission:
“To improve the overall health of our communities in Bridgeport, Stamford, and Stratford, particularly the medically underserved, by providing preventive, primary care and supplemental health care services along with health education in a culturally sensitive manner regardless of ones ability to pay.”
For More Information:
Need to find a community health center in your area? Go here
Are you interested in working for a community health center through the Americorps? Go here
Are you thinking, or in school to be a health professional? Interested in working at a community health center while getting your school loans repaid? Consider the National Health Service Corps! Information here
Want a public health program that has active partnerships with community health centers? Consider GWU’s MPH in Community Oriented Primary Care! More info here
Need more data on Community Health Centers? Go to the National Association of Community Health Centers website here.
Recent Comments