Researchers have proven that foods such as sugar, chocolate and cheese are addictive by studying the brain's response after consuming those foods and by using the same drugs that are used for treating drug addiction to lessen the effects of the foods.
Paul Stitt reported in his book Beating the Food Giants that the companies he worked for were aware that their foods caused overeating and that this was part of their marketing strategy for selling more foods.
An investigative reporter in England now documents that this is the case. According to a recent article in The Telegraph, scientists working for Nestle and Unilever have been investigating how foods like chocolate biscuits, burgers and snacks make people binge eat. In public, however, the companies are insisting that there is no proof that their products cause overeating.
The overeating effect is triggered by opiods, chemicals that cause a desire to eat more, overriding the feeling of fullness that usually causes one to stop eating. Researchers state that the effect is short-lived but very real. A review of 20 years of research by scientists at the University of Sussex shows that that when the release of opiods is blocked using drugs, food intake dropped 21% in normal weight subjects, and 33% in obese people. Similar research has been conducted in the U.S. with identical results.
The research also shows that the opiod effect is strongest with products that involve combinations of fat and refined carbohydrates, for example products that contain chocolate, cheese and sugar.
Again, the companies are insisting that the addictive nature of their foods is not an issue, but a leading scientist in the industry spoke at a conference sponsored by the major food companies. In response to this, a spokesperson from Nestle confirmed that the company has been studying the role of opiods in food intake for many years. He said "We have projects currently running to investigate this and other aspects of obesity and the company will make all necessary changes when there is significant scientific evidence to support such action."
This is very significant in view of the lawsuits that are starting to be filed against fast food companies and food manufacturing companies. A lot of people have laughed at these lawsuits and some of them have been dismissed. But what people do not know is that this is exactly what happened to the tobacco companies. In the beginning, everyone thought that the decision to smoke was strictly a personal one and that people could quit any time they wanted to. But during the 1990's we learned that the industry had manipulated cigarettes' content to enhance their addictive nature. Settlements as a result of that information have totaled billions of dollars.
Professor John Banzhaf at George Washington University in Washington D.C. states in reference to the addictive nature of foods, "This would seem to constitute failure to disclose a material fact - information that might sway the decision of consumers, had they known about it."
So, for those of you who get frustrated while we all watch companies make billions of dollars while selling junk foods to our kids, be patient. The last word has not been heard on the liability issue and I personally think that the liability for these companies is much greater than for the tobacco companies. Remember that the cigarette companies never promised a benefit from consuming their products - the food companies have!
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