The Psychology of Overeating: Food and the Culture of Consumerism
https://share.readmoo.com/book/809411 想減肥？一「吃」就搞定！
我們都知道，最簡單、最有科學根據的減重方法就是「少吃一點」，但為什麼就是做不到呢？其實我們的目光，早已被一則一則光鮮亮麗的廣告所吸引：
● 能量棒、代餐、運動飲料、阿金飲食、生酮飲食、食物調理機、現榨果汁機……
時下最流行、噱頭性十足的商品，再加上網紅推薦文、開箱影片將我們給淹沒，於是我們用更多的「過度消費」來解決「過度飲食」的問題，彷彿只有砸大錢才買得健康和苗條。結果，我們往往比決定減重之前還消費得更多！
除了花錢吃吃喝喝之外，我們找不到生命的意義
各大廠商業者紛紛把我們當作賺錢武器──食品廠製造高度可口食品，讓我們上癮、變胖；標籤上的「天然」「低脂」等標語，促使我們毫不猶豫地吃更多；各種時尚飲食、減重食譜狂銷……業者的火藥庫裡，永遠都有最新的花招、力量強大的成分，我們還抵擋得住嗎？
問題是，當吃下肚的東西，代表了身分地位；當不購買時下的東西，就會被邊緣化；當你沮喪、焦慮、孤單的時候，沉溺在食物裡，是人生中唯一的慰藉……你還能不去消費嗎？
消費文化、社會心理、廣告媒體、成癮物質、食品廠與藥廠爭奪戰……一堆「看不見的手」，在背後操縱著我們的生活！或許，我們已經別無選擇。過度飲食，不僅是我們唯一負擔得起的平價奢侈，也是我們在這個變態的消費文化下，表達痛苦的極端方式。
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臨床心理師基瑪‧卡吉兒透過學術研究與臨床實務，抽絲剝繭「過度飲食」現象背後的複雜機制，解開為什麼我們會陷入「狂吃」的病態消費之中。
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The Psychology of Overeating: Food and the Culture of Consumerism
The author Cargill discusses food and eating and relates these topics to the culture ofconsumerism. From the beginning, the author clarifies that this book is notabout obesity and not only about overeating, but about overconsumption. The rise of consumer culture is described and compared to individual psychology. The author introduces the funnel of consumption, in which overconsumptionof food is embedded in a broader pattern of overconsumption and the culture of individual consumerism. For example, the author reflects on imaginativehedonism (i.e., disappointment when actual consumption does not satisfy the imagined desired) and illustrates how materialism and too many consumer choices lead to unhappiness.
The history of food processing is outlined and key terms like whole,processed, ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods are defined. The association between food cost and nutritional quality is critically discussed as the author disproves the well-accepted myth that there are no inexpensive,nutritious foods. Here, the author illustrates the complex picture behind the association between poverty and intake of lower quality foods from a cultural perspective and argues that many people suffer from both financial and nutritional illiteracy. Three main drivers of overeating are described—palatability,variety and convenience—and it is explained how the food industry exploits these basic mechanisms by relating them to individual psychology. The history and current situation of sugar trade, production and consumption are also illustrated. Humans’ preference for sugar and sweet taste, respectively, are briefly explained from a biological, evolutionary and psychological perspective.The negative health consequences of sugar in general, and of sugar-sweetened beverages in particular, are discussed.
Physiological mechanisms of hunger and satiety, for example, appetite-regulating hormones like insulin, ghrelin and leptin are presented. Along these lines, parallels between addictive drugs and hyperpalatable foods and between individuals with substance dependence and self-reported “food addicts” are elucidated. The author describes Binge Eating Disorder and critically discusses its inclusion in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Specifically, the author points out a possible overpathologizing of eating behavior due to the blurry line between overeating, occasional binge eating and clinically-relevant binge eating. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment in the medical system are discussed in the light of consumerism, for example referring to the use of lifestyle drugs.
The book closes by taking a look at the processes at work behind the food and pharmaceutical industry. Similarities between the two are presented, for example, that both industries constantly develop new products like flavors,packages and medications to create new markets. Furthermore, the regulatory purview of agencies in the food sector is examined and the author reveals failures of these agencies in the regulation of food, drugs and supplements. Finally,strategies for individual, cultural and governmental change are suggested to reduce overeating and overconsumption.
There are only few instances in the book where the author does not draw a complete picture of current research. For example, Cargill states that artificial sweeteners may actually increase caloric intake from other sources and are linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, there are also human studies showing that people do not compensate non-caloric sweetener intake by eating more (e.g., Anton et al. 2010) and that non-caloric sweetener intakeappears to be helpful for losing weight (Rogers et al. 2016). When referring to possible addictive effects of hyperpalatable foods, the author misses the fact that researchers have actually discussed addiction-like consumption of foods long before the rise of ultra-processed, hyperpalatable foods in recent decades occurred (Meule 2015). Finally, at times, the cultural analysis may be restricted to US culture and may be not fully applicable to other countries.
Notwithstanding these minor limitations, the author excellently connects different levels of analysis (e.g., cultural versus individual) and sophisticatedly reveals parallels between, or even equivalence of, consumer culture and eating behavior. The main message of this book is to understand overeating not only as a problem of food and eating, but as a form of overconsumption. Throughout the book, these comprehensive observations are further elucidated by specific examples from the author’s patients. To conclude, this book is a great read for everybody who wants to deepen their understanding of food and eating and extend it to a bigger picture in the context of consumer culture and, vice versa,for those who are already familiar with these cultural aspects, to deepen their understanding of the psychological mechanisms at work at the individual level.
Reference:
Meule, A. 2015. “Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research.” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 88: 295–302.
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窮人較胖這件事情，有很關鍵的因素－－窮人通常是勞動藍領。
廉價、快速、促進食慾、提供大量能量的餐點，是重度勞動後的自然選擇。
或許聽起來很靠北，但沒長期做過勞動工作的人很難理解這件事情。
勞動半天之後，大腦會很自然地讓你選擇看起來油膩、澱粉十足、辛香味十足的大便當，
或是物美價廉的加工食物(大量製造、次級原料、過量調味、隨手可得)。
為了獎勵勞動的痛苦，也會配上一瓶汽水或涼飲、拿鐵。
而不是水煮蛋香蕉、川燙雞胸肉、白開水熱茶、黑咖啡。
日子很痛苦，沒意義－－唯一的慰藉是食物跟睡眠。
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這真的是血淋淋的現實，
但說到底，人根本只能做到盡量相對的善良，無法達到絕對的善良，
因為人存在的本質本來就是建立在對於他者生存掠奪的本質上。
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如果自律可以解決大部分問題，
人類社會中的大部分矯正管理機制，根本沒有必要存在。
能自律的藍領當然存在，但難度跟稀有度，跟白領工作者比較起來少之又少，
問題是個人，還是因為生活環境？是後者。
澄：結論是－－
身為白領的我，其實也無法為藍領做什麼；
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