10 Things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

Bigger, juicier, saltier, sweeter, crunchier. Most of all,

more. The food industry and its nonstop marketing

has been tabbed by many experts as a major player in

the obesity epidemic. "The result of constant

exposure to today's 'eat more' food environment,"

write Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim in their

upcoming book Why Calories Count, "has been to

drive people to desire high-calorie foods and to

become 'conditioned overeaters.'"

Even as the Food industry takes steps seemingly in the right direction—by launching campaigns to bring

healthy products to schools, for example—

wellness initiatives are often just marketing

ploys, contends David Ludwig, a pediatrician

and coauthor of a commentary published in

2008 in the Journal of the American Medical

Association (JAMA) that raised questions about

whether Big Food companies can be trusted to

help combat obesity.

Ultimately, he has argued, makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to maximize

profits, which means encouraging consumers to eat more—not less—of a company's products. Health

experts including Ludwig and Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, both of whom have

long histories of tracking the food industry, spoke with U.S. News and highlighted 10 things that junk

Food makers don't want you to know about their products and how they promote them.