Addicted to sugar, fat and salt

How the food industry makes consumers addicted to salt, sugar, and fat

04/23/2014

Sugar, fat and salt are unhealthy - everyone knows that. Nevertheless, many people consume large amounts of snacks, such as sweets and chips, because the fabrics make them happy. At the same time they provide plenty of unwanted kilos on the hips and can even make you dependent. Many food manufacturers exploit this and bring specific products „addictive“ on the market. Consumers are often misled with misleading advertising slogans and appreciating descriptions and images on the packaging, so that it is not immediately apparent that they are unhealthy fattening, which may even promote the emergence of serious disease with frequent consumption.

Food industry relies on addictive potential of fat, sugar and salt
If you eat fat, salt or sugar, it stimulates the body's own reward system. Because eating high-calorie foods increases dopamine levels much more than low-calorie foods. As a result, feelings of happiness arise. Since humans would like to experience these positive feelings as often as possible, he eats more and more calorie-rich foods with the „Glücksboten“.

This behavior was already demonstrated by our Stone Age ancestors, albeit for a different reason: they needed high calorie food to survive. In addition, they learned that sweet fruits were not poisonous and provided a lot of energy. „People have not developed in an environment that has a lot of sweet food“, explains the American journalist Michael Moss in his book „The salt-sugar-fat plot“. People got used to sweet and greasy calorie bombs early on.

Sugar and fat can act like drugs
A series of experiments with rats confirmed the high addictive potential of sugar and fat. In the brain of the rodents, who were fed with high-fat and high-sugar foods over a longer period of time, the changes were similar to those of drug-addicted rats. The more they ate the high-energy diet, the more they needed to experience the artificial feelings of happiness until they completely lost control over their eating habits. At this time the rats were sugar and fat dependent.

The food industry mostly ignores this effect of high calorie food or uses terms such as „preference“ or „Desire“. However, like the rats, many people die. At some point they lose control over their eating habits and drastically increase. Moss illustrates this relationship with the rising numbers of obese children in the US. From 2006 to 2008, their share increased from 15 to 20 percent, according to the nutrition expert. Among adults, about 35 percent are affected by obesity.

In Germany, more than 23 percent of Germans suffer from severe obesity, according to a study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on adult health (DEGS). According to this, over nine million men and ten million women in this country are seriously overweight.

Fat contains twice as many calories as sugar
In addition to sugar, especially fat is a treacherous addictive substance. It can either hide or accentuate other flavors, make crispy crisps and offer unbeatable benefits to the food industry: fat is cheap and prolongs the shelf life of food. „In addition, his taste does not explode on the tongue like sugar. His addictive potential is more subtle“, reports Moss. Fat is so popular in the human brain, especially because of the many calories. In comparison to sugar, fat is twice as energetic. „The body even appreciates fat so much that it disables extra slowly the mechanism that is supposed to prevent us from overeating“, writes Moss. Even more fatal is the combination of fat with small amounts of sugar. „When the brain is confronted with this combination, it completely loses sight of the fat.“

Salt in excess endangers the health
Salt gives many foods a wonderful taste. In excess, however, it can endanger one's health by removing the sodium contained in saline from the body's fluid and transferring it to the bloodstream. In this way, the amount of blood increases, so that the heart has to pump more. As a result, high blood pressure can arise. Above all finished products such as frozen pizza, pasta dishes and ready-made sauces contain a lot of salt.

Consumer advocates are particularly critical of the fact that they often contain too much salt, fat and sugar in special children's products such as bear sausage or cow pudding. If children consume such products, it is not only unhealthy, they learn early on how sweet or salty something should taste. Other less sweet or salty products that are healthier are not perceived as tasty. „Children's products are not just sources of calories, they affect your health“, emphasizes Moss in his book.

Studies with infants have shown that children from the age of about six months can be taught to perceive the salty taste as pleasant. Before that, babies do not like salt. „When that happens, salt has a profound effect on their eating habits“, so the nutrition expert.

Marketing of high calorie foods is often misleading
Most unhealthy foods are not identified as such. And even worse: with colorful colors and creative advertising slogans chips and chocolate are added „Wellness products“ made, which are eaten comfortably on the sofa in a relaxed atmosphere with the one or the loved one. In advertising, the consumers of calorie bombs look neither fat nor sick, so the potential customer is fooled that a piece of chocolate or a few chips are good for the soul and not bad for the figure.

Moss points out another important factor in his book: „An often underestimated aspect of food marketing is the seemingly static, familiar division in the supermarket.“ So the most tempting products, which have the highest levels of salt, sugar and fat, would be placed at eye level. In addition, chocolate and other sweets are often found outside the coffers, where they are especially noticed by children. (Ag)