Hijacked: How Your Brain Is Fooled by Food

by David A. Kessler

Most people believe that it's natural to gain a lot of weight as we get older. But this is not true. Kessler knows it's not true because until about 30 years ago, we did not have a weight problem in North America. In fact, throughout history, the human body weight stayed pretty much the same. People ate the amount of food they needed and no more. Then, in the 1980s, something changed. North Americans started gaining a lot of weight.

     What happened in such a short time to add so many millions of pounds to so many millions of people? Something had changed in North America, but it wasn't us. It was our food. These processed foods - loaded with sugar, fat, and salt - make it almost impossible for some people to stop eating.

     Many years ago, the food industry managed to figure out that they could sell more food if it had a lot of sugar, fat, and salt in it. Good food should make you feel full and satisfied. But foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt have the opposite effect on many people. Instead of easing our hunger, these foods make us want to eat more. Even when we're full, even when we're not hungry, we feel the need to eat.

      Hijacked helps us understand what it is that we're eating and helps us train our brains to know when to stop eating and to stop craving food.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Food, Nutrition

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 2012

About the author

(David Kessler is also the name of another author, a hospice expert who worked with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, although David A. Kessler did co-author a book on elder care.)

David Aaron Kessler is an American pediatrician, lawyer, author, and administrator (both academic and governmental). He was the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from November 8, 1990 to February 28, 1997, and has subsequently held administrative and academic posts at Yale and the University of California at San Francisco.

More information is available at Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think most people who live in the United States have heard about the high percentage of our population who are either over-weight or obese. What I never realized is that this is somewhat recent, in the last thirty years and the introduction of the processed food market. We all know junk food and fast food is not good for us but until I read this I never realized the extent of the food's industry efforts to use food to addict the public. Salt, sugar, fat are in even the most innocuous of items and in larger and larger amounts that our taste buds quickly respond to and this than becomes the standard and what we crave.

Even our brain changes, releasing more dopamine, the feel good chemical and we so like the feeling it becomes another reason we crave things. Memories of course, our comfort foods that are no longer god for us because they are nor prepared the same way. The biggest shocker for me was that at Chili's when I though eating a grilled chicken breast was a healthy alternative, it was anything but. Apparently they soak their chicken breasts in a salt, sugar, herb mixture and than they are packaged and delivered to their many restaurants. Apparently when one eats at a restaurant that does not prepare all their food fresh and on site one never knows what they are eating.

This was a shorter book I think aimed at the young adult group, but I found it very informative and somewhat shocking.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, "Your Food Is Fooling You" talks about how food is really processed, made and how it makes people obese. Most people think that foods like pizza, cinnamon rolls or cookies are all natural flavoring and freshly made. When really, these foods have been processed or have ingredients in them that have been processed with salt, sugar and fat. This causes our bodies to crave more and more of the same foods that have the same salt, sugar and fat. This leads to overeating. From this book, the reader learns new ways to judge foods and understand how food industries trick you into thinking you're eating healthy all natural foods. You also learn the certain ingredients and/or chemicals used to make the food product so irresistible and tasty.

This book is filled with so much knowledge and you wonder how David Kessler gathered all the information. I personally liked the author's writing style. He interviewed many people from different places and companies. This is different from most authors because, usually they would get information from articles or text or just by the knowledge of his/her peers around them. He interviews the owners of the companies, the founders, and more. He asks them questions that involve how the food is made, the nutrition, ingredients, why the food was made and how it impacted America. For example, he interviewed Jerilyn Brusseau, the founder of the great hit "Cinnabon" where they make 'fresh' cinnamon rolls with so much fat, sugar and salt in them, most Americans want more. Fat used for many things to make the food tastier, "Fat was added to make the roll tender and rich. Cream cheese, which also has a lot of fat, is added the tbr frosting to give it that really nice, creamy texture,"(pg 69). This information is something you can easily find in online, Kessler's strategy digs deeper to get more information. I also enjoy how Kessler specifically explains why the companies do such thing and why it's important to include certain ingredients to make the food seem more natural and realistic. What I dislike about what Kessler does, is that he only talks about the sugar, fat, salt, and chemicals in the food and not about anything else. These ingredients are really repetitive and pretty much everything he says is repetitive.

I learned a handful of things as I read this book and there were a lot of interesting facts in it. One fact that stood out the most to me was that because of the sugar, salt and fat in foods, America is overeating and becoming obese. I learned that companies take an original all healthy recipe and turns it into a fatty, salty, sweet new and unimproved recipe. This is something that bothered me the most throughout the book. The companies have the healthy all natural recipes, but they have to remodify it so that it seems more attractive and tasty. I learned many other things, but these were the ones that stood out to me the most.

I would recommend this book to anyone 10+. This book is simple to read, the wording is somewhat confusing, but you can understand what the author is trying to prove to you. I would also recommend this book to those who want to learn more about what they eat. This book gives you a lot of information about what you really eat, and what they do to trick you into thinking you're eating all natural foods.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the adaptation, for teens, of The End of Overeating. As I was beginning and then skimming this, I realized that I've read this argument & advice before, even though I see no evidence here. Anyway, it's good science, and very helpful. The voice is conversational and accessible, the claims convincing, and the advice sensible for all of us (not just teens) who have are aware that we have a 'relationship' with food. I honestly do believe it's especially great for those who eat mindlessly, or who eat a whole pint of ice cream at one go, but it's also great for the rest of us who want to eat more healthfully but see unhealthful foods as 'treats.'

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book uses simple language to explain the scientific reasons why we overeat. I learned a few new things and what I knew about fast food and processed food was reinforced and will help me avoid it even more now! I like the end of the book best. Kessler explains that we need to think about how we will feel AFTER we eat a food...not how we will feel while we are eating it. I agree with him, this is one of my main tricks for avoiding junk food. He also says it is important to have our own food rules to help us out when temptation strikes. Again, I find this to be really good advice. I have rules, such as no sweets Monday-Friday, which really help me when I am standing in the line at Starbucks and the pumpkin scones are staring me down on a Monday morning! He also touches on eating until we are full but not stuffed. This is all really sound advice and best of all, he reminds everyone that this takes practice and it will get easier with time. Based on my experience with losing weight and keeping it off, his advice is really sound and practical. I highly recommend this book!

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your Food is Fooling You is an adaptation for teens from the New York Times bestseller, The End of Overeating. Written by former FDA commissioner and Harvard medical school graduate, author David Kessler presents his theory that the high salt, fat, and sugar content in processed foods actually changes our brain chemistry causing us to overeat. Included are studies, interviews, and academic research to support his argument. Statistics show that 2/3 of American adults are overweight or obese and 1/3 of kids. The author gives practical steps to “retrain” your brain for healthy eating. Excellent resource should be in all school libraries!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your Food is Fooling You was a book made to inform readers about why America is obese. The problem that was mainly identified in the book was overeating. The author was trying to show the reader why people overeat, how they overeat, and gave some tips on how to stop overeating. From this book, I learned a lot of interesting facts on nutrition. I also learned a lot about how food companies make their food irresistible. Overall, I learned a lot from this book and found it very interesting.

There were many things that I liked about this book, and a few things I didn't like as well. One thing that I liked was the author's style. The author's style in this book was very effective and the vocabulary was simple and easy to understand. I liked the style of this book because Kessler used many interesting experiments and examples to support his writing. For example, he used people he personally was friends with-- and himself-- to demonstrate points to the reader. I enjoyed this about his writing style because it made the book more personal instead of just a list of nutritional facts. When he applied his points to people he knew, it made the book seem more real and showed me, as a reader, how foods affect real, everyday people-- not just people who sign up to be in surveys and interviews. Something else that I enjoyed about the writing style was how he connected with readers. His style of writing made it seem as if he wrote to inform a crowd of individuals about a topic, instead of writing it as if he was targeting a crowd of random people. All of this made the book more interesting for me to read. However, something that I didn't like about this book was that parts of it seemed somewhat repetitive. It seemed like the author was trying to clarify that the reader understood the information, but, to me, it felt like I was reading the same facts in many different parts of the book.

I learned a lot while reading Your Food is Fooling You. The most re-visited fact in this book was that America is obese because Americans overeat way too much. While I already knew that this was a fact, I had never questioned why Americans overeat so much or why certain foods are harder to resist than others. However, when I picked up this book, I began to question why and wonder about topics that I had never entirely considered before. I learned that Americans overeat because we have too many foods with salt, sugar, and fat in them. But, what makes these foods so compelling? From this book, I now understand that the reason these foods are harder to resist is a part of our brain called the "reward center." There was so much that I didn't know about the reward center before reading this book; now, I feel almost like an expert.

I also learned a lot about myself, as a reader, from this book. Before reading Your Food is Fooling You, I didn't really enjoy non-fiction books because I often felt as though I was reading a list of facts, even if I did learn a lot. However, I now know that I find non-fiction books interesting to read if the author connects to the reader. And, in this book, I felt as though the author was connecting with me through the writing style. It made the book more effective. It also made me remember the facts better than I would have otherwise.

I would recommend this book to anybody 12 & up. The only reason that I would not recommend it for younger children is because the wording might be somewhat complicated for them to understand. However, I think that this is a book that anyone could read because it is very fascinating and full of information about nutrition and overeating.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the information in this book about how salt, sugar and high fat foods are very addictive. However I found it very repetitive. By the fiftieth time I'd read that high fat, sugar, and salt is addictive it was like beating a dead horse. I skimmed the last 1/3 of this book because everything was stated at least fifty times if I didn't get it the first time. I did like that it was not full of chemical jargon and psychology terms that were hard to understand. But otherwise I think I'd like to read the full version, not the teen version. We'll see.

[Katrina Bergherm · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. This was a "for youth" version; I think I'll have to get a copy of the adult version now.

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is meant for "young readers," but sometimes I need something explained to me like I'm a child. Nothing new or groundbreaking in here that I didn't already know, but it was straightforward and made sense and I'm more likely to remember it than an adult book that delves into every detail of body chemistry and food, etc.

Somehow, the "making a plan" for when and what you eat during a day seemed easier and more reasonable when he said it--even though EVERY dietician and fitness guru says this--because it was in the context of navigating this unnatural food environment that we're in. When I think of it in terms of "I have to plan my way through this crazy obstacle course" then it seems less daunting. I'm going to try it.

[Toni Daugherty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of pages are devoted to information that we already know - I think to fill pages. The whole idea of your brain being highjacked is his theory throughout the book and I'm just not buying it! Yes, these foods are bad for us. They're over processed and we should not eat them. We should go back to eating foods directly from the ground. We know that. Does the combination of salt, sugar and fat change your brain neurons and cause you to become addicted to the food? That's what he says, but there's no evidence for it and Mr. Kessler is not a neuro-scientist so we need a little proof beyond the simple statements.
One thing I took away from this book, however, that I did not know, is what restaurants do to your food before it arrives at your table. For example, places like Chili's use dozens of tiny needles to pump your chicken breast full of water, salt and fat so that the meat will melt in your mouth. This over-processed, easy to swallow food, is not what nature intended. Hence, you are obese, because you are addicted to the unnatural, heavenly taste and ease of mastication product you keep purchasing in most restaurants in the US. You will come back to it over and over again, deriving little or no nutrition which leaves you hungry.
I agree with Kessler that American's eat the wrong foods. I just disagree that willpower and addiction are outcomes related to brain wiring. I think it's really all about habit. Change your habits and you strengthen your willpower. Strengthen your willpower and you will succeed. When one day you don't succeed, don't beat yourself up - just get back to it. Cook your own food and don't eat stuff from a bag or food delivered through a window - or at least very rarely! All-in-all, I'm glad I read the book.

[Emily Clifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has clear ideas that are consistently reinforced in each section: processed food makers strive to make their foods irresistible, irresistible foods cause people to overeat more throughout the rest of the day, and there are ways to reprogram your brain to seek out healthier foods.

This book seems geared for grades 6-8, and I know he has an adult version of it that I am going to hunt down today. For that age group, this book provides a manageable look at eating choices and habits, without a preachy or gloom-and-doom tone.

It did leave me with questions/concerns about how some concepts were explained, but I'll read his adult version to see if those questions are answered. I also thought that if a kid got bored with the depressing first 3 sections, he/she might not make it to the rehab part at the end, which is the light at the end of the tunnel!

Really, if nothing else, this book has fueled my desire to read more books on nutrition, so I think that is a great place to be! And honestly, I did get a lot of information out of a short, fast read.

[Joy Weese Moll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is marketed as the “Young Reader’s Edition of the New York Times Bestseller The End of Overeating.” That description doesn’t capture what an overhaul this is of the first book. Call it the “Stream-lined, Quotable, Quickly-Read Edition of The End of Overeating for Everyone.” Unless you need details of studies to be convinced that our modern food system is broken in significant ways, Your Food is Fooling You may be a better version for many readers.

The End of Overeating was the book that started me on a successful journey to lose 70 pounds (and the first of the 70 healthy lifestyle books I read while on that journey). I loved reading Your Food is Fooling You to remind me of all that I learned.

More thoughts in the book review on my blog: Your Food is Fooling You

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is a a "Young Reader's Edition" of the bestseller, The End of Overeating, and is geared toward the high school student, or the adult reader who wants the information in a shorter version of 173 pages. Those middle schoolers who can tolerate text devoid of graphics would also benefit. Lots of information which recaps what heavy readers of health news already know. The interesting fact is the author, David A. Kessler, MD, is a former Commissioner of the FDA. Although the author references several studies and surveys within each chapter, a complete citation, or bibliography, is missing. Some studies deal with the effect of food, especially sugar, salt, and fat on our physiology and on our brain. Other studies examine behavior, labeling practices, and economics of food. I feel this is a useful one stop book concerning our nutritional crisis.

[Nadire Allisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a lot of health nutrition books but none made me aware of the junk I was putting in my body until I read this book. It didn't occur to me that the fast food had a chemical that trained my brain and taste buds to want more and now that I'm aware of this I have tried my best to stay away for high fat and sugar foods. Obesity is a big problem in the world and in America and if it was made more of a bigger topic to reduce the fating I'm foods being sold to us it would be easier to maintain appetite and weight. I'm more concerned about my eating habits and I'm really glad I read this book and got the chance to learn more about nutrition and my body and food.

[ElaBrainBump · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the young reader's edition of the New York Times' bestseller The End of Overeating by former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration and practicing pediatrician, Dr. David A. Kessler. It's a strong example of writing to inform and persuade using scientific research, personal anecdotes, and logical reasoning. This book is a good example of how scientific research can create awareness about commonly accepted behaviors and industries.

[Suep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahhhh! Stupid fat,sugar,and salt combo! Book is a good basic foundation for understanding how we crave stupid fat, sugar, and salt laden food ( if you want to call it food). I'm so "trained" to sugar and salt, and yes, fat too, that I just cannot have it in the house! I hunt it down and eat it all! I also believe sugar substitutes are causing major Issues with overeating and health as well. Anyways, basic, short easy read on our lovely food industry. Gross!!!!!!!!

[Tweller83 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a former head of the Food and Drug Administration, this doctor takes a somewhat complicated topic and breaks it down for younger students to understand. This was a good read. A student who is ready for a change in lifestyle will get something out of this book. With childhood obesity at an all-time high, this is a decent book to have in the library.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you eat - you should read this book! I now understand the siren-call of peanut M&Ms & the power of the Lays potato chip ad, "Bet ya can't eat just one!" $-Greedy food industry makes us into greedy gluttons!

I read the "young reader's edition." It was a very interesting & informative read & well-suited to the younger reader.

[Jenny Huelsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the facts are the same as when I read the book by Michael Moss. However, this book is geared for teens so it was written in a way that it repeats important information and it was great to read them again. Plus I liked the ideas he had at the end to deal with common issues I have with food. Plan to encourage my kids to read it too.

[Lisa Eirene · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed. There was absolutely nothing of value in this book. It was all information I already knew.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2015...

[Jo Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy read with good information. Some redundancy but good. This is simple for the younger audience. Did not like the information on animal testing.

[Kristen-Marie Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too repetitive in spots, but contains brilliant insights into having a healthy relationship with food.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read literally 100's of books about dieting and nutrition, and there's always room for one more if it has interesting news, or even old news, told in a new way. This book was actually written for teens, but I liked it, mostly because the author didn't have a new diet to plug. He did, however, emphasize something I knew but didn't know the extent of, and that is the extreme measures the food industry takes to trap the consumer.

In taste-testing, companies like Frito-Lay and Nabisco are not content with a product that satisfies the consumer. They literally do not stop refining a recipe until it is deemed irresistible to the taster---as in "I bet you can't eat just one. . ." If the taster says they loved the product, but they stop eating after one, the company considers that recipe a flop. And they just keep adding more fat, salt and sugar in different ways to layer the flavors.

I also learned that the food industry has come up with a new phrase "eatertainment" and restaurants and fast food places are trying harder to focus on food that is fun to eat and provides lasting memories of some kind to create a hook in your mind to try to relive good times. I had noticed that trend in t.v. commercials, but I didn't know it was an actual idea. I am always telling my husband when we watch t.v that we could be so much happier if we could only go to Chili's because all those people are having such a good time.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

First thing I have to say is that I was totally drawn in by the cover of the book.

OK down to business. This is a quick but rather in depth read. The chapters are short but rather informative. The content is written so that is it very easy for readers to understand (after all not all of us are nutritionists or scientists) and I rather enjoy how the author uses real world examples (The Cheesecake Factory's menu, etc.) to explain the inner working of the food industries in North America. "Fat, sugar and salt" are constantly drilled into your mind that they are the key ingredients used by the food industries to hook consumers and ultimately lends a hand in the increase in obesity and other health issues.

Although everything written in this book was very, very persuasive, I would have liked to seen a bit more incorporation of researches/studies conducted by researchers/scientists over the years in regards to food and health. I'm not saying we need a dozen statistics or hypothesis paraded to the readers, I am just saying it would be nice to have some actual science and numbers to back up the claims.

Overall, if you want to know more about underbelly of the fast food industry and how food influences obesity, this book is worth a read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a large effect on me and hopefully my eating habits. Kessler provides some great arguments and lots of ammunition to back them up. I'll never look at chips or cookies again without thinking "salt, fat, sugar." But, in my mind, this teen version of Kessler's manifesto is repetitive and condescending. Throughout the book are "callouts" typed in bold letters that repeat what he has just stated in the previous paragraph. I don't know many teens who would pick up this book in the first place who would need to be hit over the head in this fashion. At the end of the book when he gives his advice for eating a cleaner and more healthful diet, he again repeats and reiterates the same thing over and over. I felt like I was reading an elementary school primer!

Kessler is serving some thought provoking and stimulating information in this book. Too bad he couldn't allow the information to speak for itself. I find it difficult to digest a book that gives me so little credit for being able to understand it's major premise.

[Sarah Therese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this one up for reasearch only and I understand that it is written with the idea that someone as young as 12 could pick it up and read it and get guidance and know how from it but it just wasn't enough! I felt that all the facts were cut short and the statistics were incomplete. And yes, it is an imperative piece of the book to understand that America needs to stop eating layered food of salt, sugar and fat, but I felt like I was reading the same exact paragraphs over and over again and not learning a whole lot more then I could have from one simple google search. And yes, the book is a 12 and up audience but the writing was too close to that for a ten year old and then the information given on how to improve your own food states seemed far too advanced for a twelve to fifteen year old! I might try to read the adult version that he based this one off of, but otherwise it just left me with a feeling of "blah".

[Kat O'B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info, rather repetitive presentation, especially for the first part of the book. Also, I teach middle grade students so I know what they can read, and the frequent bold text bullets of what had JUST been stated in the text are over the top. The info is very important for our young people (and us oldies, too!), but this one came across a tad dry. 2.5 stars at the beginning, then finished up more as a 3. I agree with this reviewer:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

FWIW, in spite of my lukewarm review, this book was already on my middle school library shelves and I certainly will keep it there for students. There isn't enough reading material out there for this age group on this topic, and this book is at least a place to start.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super important message that I wish I would have heard when I was a teen. The writing is very accessible, but also somewhat dry. Also, since this is a book aimed at teens, I think the author should have used more examples from actual teens. Every person whose eating habits Kessler discussed was a grown up - not sure advice like "eat the same few dinners over and over" or "say no to dinner parties where junk food will be served" is as helpful for a teen, who has less control over his or her income/shopping/meal decisions.

[Tracy Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book through LibraryThing giveaway. Quite interesting. It gave me quite a wake-up call to see how some of my now former favorite foods are actually prepared! I think this is a great book to anyone who is worried about their own eating habits, or anyone else that they care about. I realise that many of the points stated are rather simplistic and some things just boil down to common sense, but I know I will be thinking twice about where and what I eat a little bit differently from now on.