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David Kessler: Making food our friend again

Last update: August 4, 2009 - 8:09 AM

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David Kessler had a SnackWells problem. The fat-free cookies, he writes in his new book, "The End of Overeating," would not "relinquish their grip" on him. But he's better now. "No more SnackWells," the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner happily reports. Kessler freed himself from the cookies' clutches by "deconditioning." It's that kind of mental shift, he says, that is required to tackle the nation's obesity epidemic, a problem that was in the spotlight recently at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's first Weight of the Nation conference in Washington. Rachel Dry of the Washington Post spoke with Kessler about how food is more difficult to demonize than tobacco, why Union Station is a "food carnival" and why lemon cake isn't anyone's friend. Excerpts:

Q The medical costs of obesity could have risen to $147 billion in 2008, according to a new study. What do you think when you hear that number?

A It's a staggering number. But what concerns me as much is if you project out what's going to happen in the future. One of my greatest concerns, especially as a pediatrician, is the increase we're seeing in the number of children who are developing Type 2 diabetes.

When I started writing the book, I started listening to people who were struggling with their eating and their weight. They didn't understand what was driving their behavior. So to me, the real cost is the personal cost and the personal torment.

Q The CDC issued 24 recommendations for communities to help prevent obesity. Some of the measures are about restriction and limitation. How does that fit in with the notion of a personal struggle?

A We're going to need to change how America looks at food. Look at the success to date with tobacco. The real success wasn't with laws or regulations. That's not what drove it. Thirty or 40 years ago, we used to look at a cigarette as something that was sexy, glamorous and cool. Now we view it for what it is -- a deadly, addictive product. In some ways tobacco was easy. We can live without tobacco. Food is hard.

Our kids are growing up in an environment where fat, sugar and salt are on every corner and have been available 24/7. It's socially acceptable to eat any time. We've made food into entertainment.

Q How will the fight against food have to differ from antitobacco efforts?

A It is going to require a public health effort and campaign that far outstrips the campaign against tobacco. Our brains have become wired to respond to fat, sugar and salt.

We used to know how to keep obesity in check. Just look at this country four to five decades ago. We ate at meals. We didn't eat out all the time. Food was never advertised for the emotional value. It's not just that the food tastes good, it's that our brains and behaviors become conditioned and driven, and our brains are wired to respond to these stimuli.

Q So here is an example of faulty wiring. I was a little anxious about this interview, and so on the way back to the office from lunch I bought a piece of really pretty terrible lemon cake. And I thought, "Wow, am I really going to eat something I shouldn't before talking to David Kessler?"

A Did you?

Q Well, yes. But my question is: If it had, say, a skull and crossbones on it, would that change anything?

A If anything, the last seven years of studying this have taught me that we have to be more empathetic. We now have the science to explain to people why they're acting the way they're acting, and we can tell them it's not their fault. We have to give them the tools so they can protect themselves. Some of my colleagues think that's asking too much of people. They think the only way that's going to happen is if you drastically change the environment.

Q Those are the people who would argue to tax this stuff as much as possible and to put a label that says, "You will die if you buy this Snickers bar"?

A Those are all tools along the way. They're going to vary in their effectiveness, and some of them are important. But we have to change how we look at food. If you look at that lemon cake and say, "This is my friend," then there's nothing I can do to stand between you and that lemon cake.

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