In one of my graduate school classes – Individual Determinants of Obesity – we were talking about the prevalence of obesity and the food environment. The discussion came around to the question of “do food companies want people to be fat?” Well, lets think about this. . .

Food companies make, obviously, food! They make their food tasty. They make their food pretty to look at. They make food that smells good. They make food cheap and easy to eat. Yes, I’m thinking about processed foods – but those are the ones that tend to put on weight. Think the candy bars at the checkout, cake mixes, snack mixes, ice cream, mac and cheese and those sorts of foods. And, don’t forget all those fast foods and restaurants out there. Do they want you fat?

Honestly, I don’t think they want you, or me, or anyone else fat. But what they do want is for you to eat more of their food. The more of their food you eat, the more money they make. They entice you to eat more through commercials (food = love and acceptance, food = a treat or something you deserve), packaging, and product placements in movies and TV shows to name a few.

Restaurants get you to eat more by hiding calories in the food to make it taste good. Honestly, I don’t want to know how much butter they use. OK – I KNOW they use a lot of butter. I had the chance to work in a kitchen for a few months and discovered the secret of tasty food – BUTTER! The cooks had pitchers (yes, those iced tea pitchers) full of butter that went in and on everything. Next time you get a sandwich or hamburger, look at the bun. I’ll bet you it has butter on it. And, restaurants are good with add-ons. “Yeah, I’d like that dessert.” Sound familiar? It does to me, too.

It doesn’t take a lot of thought to see that if you eat more than your body needs – whether you know it or not -you’ll gain weight. Our bodies are not good at calculating calories as we eat. So, what can you do? Be an informed eater. Print out the nutrition information from all the restaurants that have them (I keep copies in my car for quick reference). Look at the book Eat This Not That or Dining Lean. Or, try Dr. Jo’s Eat Out and Lose Weight Diet Plan which is a deck of cards to keep with you to help make healthy choices.

Food companies can try to entice you to eat more, but you don’t have to. Remember – you are in control of what you eat. So, food companies may inadvertently want you fat – but you don’t have to be.