Great quick read and very informative in terms of the true health/nutrition realities for the guilty pleasures our North American eating culture turns a blind eye to. The mantra, not surprisingly, emphasizes and identifies sugar, fats and salt as the culprits and key ingredients utilized by a fast food industry intent on hooking their consumers on easy, tasty food. These overused ingredients lead to overeating, obesity and blind addiction. Kessler moves the reader beyond the general awareness that these three key ingredients lead to obesity by delving into the menu's of familiar eateries, describing the typical experience of visiting, ordering and eating the foods while investigating how the foods are prepared. He reveals surprising practices and, by illuminating how foods are injected and prepared, creating a deeper conscious awareness of our choices of food the next time we step up to the counter to choose these foods. A good resource for young people beginning to explore health issues and choices albeit a little repetitive. ( )

I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

First thing I have to say is that I was totally drawn in by the cover of the book.

OK down to business. This is a quick but rather in depth read. The chapters are short but rather informative. The content is written so that is it very easy for readers to understand (after all not all of us are nutritionists or scientists) and I rather enjoy how the author uses real world examples (The Cheesecake Factory's menu, etc.) to explain the inner working of the food industries in North America. "Fat, sugar and salt" are constantly drilled into your mind that they are the key ingredients used by the food industries to hook consumers and ultimately lends a hand in the increase in obesity and other health issues.

Although everything written in this book was very, very persuasive, I would have liked to seen a bit more incorporation of researches/studies conducted by researchers/scientists over the years in regards to food and health. I'm not saying we need a dozen statistics or hypothesis paraded to the readers, I am just saying it would be nice to have some actual science and numbers to back up the claims.

Overall, if you want to know more about underbelly of the fast food industry and how food influences obesity, this book is worth a read. ( )

While I found the book decently informative, I did think it rather simplistic at times. Having read Kessler's full version for adults, I thought that at times in this version for young adults he did them a bit of a disservice -- almost talking down to them at times.

That said, it's a good introduction to the concept for younger teens (and even Middle Grade kids), I just wish that perhaps there was a version in between this one and the full version that could be presented to older teens. ( )

First, I love the cover of this book - it's eye-catching and relevant.
I found the book itself fairly informative and interesting although, as other reviewers have mentioned, it gets quite repetitive. This is a bit of a shame, because I think our current cultural atmosphere is one that could use a few accessible, health-focused books on food for teenagers who will be making independent food choices soon enough, even if they are currently at the mercy of their parents' cooking.
In any case, I would guess that the majority of teenagers wouldn't hate reading it for required reading, but would not select and read it of their own volition. ( )

I enjoyed the book, it was an interesting, quick read. Kessler kept the chapters short and made interesting points about the food industry. I enjoyed many of the examples provided, however, I would have preferred to see some actual studies to back up the claims, I think it would have strengthened the arguments. That being said as I understand it, 'Hijacked: How your brain is fooled by food' was meant for teens and young adults and Kessler's previous, more in depth book, for adults. This version would be suitable for young adults. ( )