When thinking of addiction, one doesn’t generally consider their eating habits to be considered such.  This assumption could be wrong.  Obesity has swept the nation and  as many of you know, the United States has been in an ongoing battle with this rising epidemic.  In 1999 some of the nations top food companies had come together to discuss this very issue.  At this time half of Americans were considered overweight and a quarter were considered obese.  This same issue was striking younger generations with over 12 million American children also considered obese.  These numbers would only get worse with time and some felt that these companies should take action to diminish this issue.

At this meeting these companies tactics were being compared to those of tobacco products.  These companies targeted children.  Advertising in a way that appealed to their interests.  I feel that this is definitely a factor that adds to the greater issue of overeating and obesity.  These companies go out of their way to push their products on to the consumer.  They are aware of what America is going through but continue to come out with new products that are less than beneficial to ones health.  This meeting was conducted to enact change and better the health of America.  They thought if the top companies could come together and discuss this issue that this would encourage action to fix it.

With all of this taking place 15 years ago I would consider these efforts unsuccessful.  Being part of todays society I can see this issue has only gotten worse.  I can relate to what a lot of Americans are also presently going through with the problem of overeating.  I would consider food addictive.  For some people food is something people turn to find comfort and others its just something they simply can’t control.  Whatever the reason may be, it is an issue for over half of the country.  Everyday we are exposed to unhealthy choices and its hard for some to turn them down. The issue is real and if continued our country will sure face even bigger problems down the road.

Despite all the efforts of companies to offer healthy alternatives in their products, consumers will still go for what “tastes best.”  This was the strong belief of the head of General Mills, Stephen Sanger.  He stated “Talk to me about taste, and if this stuff tastes better, don’t run around trying to sell stuff that doesn’t taste good.”  Sanger, being an insider from such a huge corporation, gives us a good understanding of what most companies goals may be when introducing a new product.  They’re just making what people will buy.

I feel that the issue of obesity could be blamed on both producer and consumer.  Choices made by each side have brought us to where we are today.  Michael Moss, the author of this article stated his finding to be “… a conscious effort – … – to get people hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive.”  With all of this being said I would say this country is facing a major issue.  Food is addictive and it’s hard to quit.  I feel that these issues should be confronted and that we should find away to get out of this issue that has already spiraled out of control.  To read more on this topic check out the article where I found all of this information, The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.

Source:

Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.