Is Food Addictive? Blog in "Slate"

[Peter B Wolf]

As I have for years maintained an opinion that todays Obesity which undeniably is present in many, actually too many people of all ages, social standing and or race, is partially related to the inclusion of "Food Additives" in manufactured, packed, and other prepared foods. Since the Food and Drug Administration does not require that these additives be listed on labels one can only assume these additives be actually enticements to consume more of the product as they now are taste enhancements.

Please read the article below from the following site, One needs to scroll down on the site just below , since it is a blogging site and other writings are preceding the article

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/humannature/default.aspx

And here is an article in today's NYTimes dealing with research monies provided to Institutions and staff with restiction in publishing the results.

One needs to only guess how many restrictions are placed by food manufactures on researchers doing investigative work on manufactured foods.

"What is good for the goose is good for the gander"

read: ' What's good for Tobacco is good for Food '

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/us/22tobacco.html?hp

Edited May 22, 2008 by Peter B Wolf (log)

[Daniel Rogov]

Several questions raised here, but nothing new. Among the questions, the issue of being overweight as to being obese; the question of additives; and the overall issue of defining addiction.

To the best of my knowledge the first person to write about the question of obesity was Lucullus who bemoaned "our too plump soldiers who grow weary in climbing even the smallest of hills". And since then, the world has heard on a daily basis about the "problems" of being overweight. A bit later on Dickens complaned about "clerks with too much weight to carry", Melville wrote about "sailors too sated to have any interest in their whales", and de Toqueville noted the "too-fat, too lethargic New Yorkers" that he had encountered.

To all of which I respond - Thank heavens for Tom Jones, Gargantua, the truck drivers in Tampopo and for Babette.

Is food addictive? Of course it is. It is required by living creatures to survive. As to human beings, we eat not only because we are hungry but because of social, psychological, historical and even religious reasons.

As to obesity - sorry guys - no one to blame but either gentics in some cases or human foibles in others. Believe me, the only additive in Lucullus' time was of saltpeter and that's a sure weight loss mechanism.

What can I say other than that I have grown as weary of articles about obesity and overeating as I have about research studies that show that moderate wine consumption is good for the heart, liver, brain, lungs, tongue, tonsils, and cognitive aiities.