See Food? Eat Food!

How many times a day do you receive messages about food? See food, food, food? Eat food, food, food?

Think about what you look at when you're driving along the roads and highways near you. How far can you drive without seeing something about food?  One mile? One block? Huge billboards and signs not only tell us where the next McDonald's is, but they also display huge pictures of burgers, fries and frosty drinks. Along with golden arches popping up everywhere. And that's just one of all those businesses with their sights set to pull you in to feed you.

At the gas station, pictures of sale priced giant Slurpee's and candy bars are posted above the pump.   When you go inside, hot dogs, pizza, donuts, candy and chips are everywhere you look. Even if you decide to pay at the pump, you can't get away from food cues.

Watching TV is constant challenge. The number of commercial advertisements per hour has certainly increased since I was a kid. (Of course, we only got 3 channels back then, too!) Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like I spend more time waiting out commercial breaks to see The Good Wife than actually watching it. And how many of the ads are about food or someone eating? I've also noticed that only happy, slim and very fit models eat all that ooey, gooey cheesy pizza. I'm sure the message being delivered is that if I eat Pizza Hut's latest greasy creation, I'll become happy, slim and fit. Right?

Shopping for clothes at Macy's? Godiva chocolate bars at the checkout. Walking in the mall? Aromas of Mrs. Field's cookies and Cinnabons.  Scanning magazines, surfing the web... see food, food, food. How many of these make you want to eat, eat, eat?

I just wonder if this constant bombardment of food cues plays any role in the fact that 2/3 of American adults and 1/3 of our children are overweight or obese...