Sometime in the late 70's Americans began losing their "shape".
It is estimated that over fifty percent of our countrymen and women are overweight. What happened and what is going on. The food industry, trying to maximize profits, started researching the question of how do we sell more product - obviously they noted, we get people to eat more of our product. Through extensive research they found a set of formulas which increased eating. Essentially, the food industry and especially the fast food industry found that basic food stuff could be treated as a delivery system. The researchers found that levels of fat, sugar and salt can be adjusted to profoundly influence the opioid receptors in the brain. By increasing the fat, sugar, and/or salt to optimal high levels the person would in essence become "addicted" to the food product. As these addiction formulas were being fine tuned, a second major development was underway. In simplest terms, two income families became necessary and the norm. Working more to keep up, the family meal became more difficult to create.
Marketing stepped into the struggle and showed us images of happy folk eating fast food and processed food. Fast food in particular is the apex of the "food as a delivery system for an addictive combination".
These addictions often are experienced as "urges" to eat and most of us are quite susceptible to them.
Often after responding to the urges we find ourselves wondering about "how come we did that".
So, what to do about these urges which are an expression of the addiction. One method is to redefine these addictive foods, think and speak of them as if they are cigarettes, as a product put forward by calculating, indifferent "fat cats" who are messing with your brain. At the same time accept that we are vulnerable humans and that we will at times fail to stop an urge. Get up after a relapse and continue your efforts to see these food delivery systems as corporate capitalism's indifferent misuse of us.
For recent research check Science News the October 6, 2012 issue, the article, "Tricks Foods Play"
www.sciencenews.org
recently an article in NYT -http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/are-junk-food-makers-worse-than-tobacco-industry-giants--how-fritos--coke-and-lunchables-vie-for-addicts--210753546.html
