http://obesity.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=00437...
It doesn't seem very descriptive of the phenomenon.
> Researchers at Macquarie University have now shown that memory inhibition — the useful ability to ‘block out’ memories that are no longer useful, which depends on a brain area called the hippocampus — is linked to dietary excess.
The amount we over eat in the US is pretty unique in the world. This research is suggesting that what we eat is creating a feedback loop; our diet inhibits our ability to block out irrelevant memories which means we can't stop thinking about eating, which means we eat more of the food which makes it harder to stop thinking about eating.
Of course, if this research is true and our diet is inhibiting our ability to block out irrelevant memories that seems like it will have a lot more implications than just creating a dietary feedback loop. It could be influencing all kinds of mental disorders as well, including depression, anxiety, etc.
Not so much, anymore. Saudi Arabia and Mexico surpassed us a few years ago. Most of Polynesia and good chunks of the Middle East have been more obese than the US as long as I can remember. Even the UK is hot on our heels.
"The study […] looked at healthy young people, some of whom ate a Western-style diet."
I never hear any specifics about how other cultures consume low amounts of fat. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that western diets are actually the lowest in fat.