Visceral Fat and the Chronic Health Epidemic

Jul 21, 2025

David Kessler, former FDA commissioner and author, dives deep into the crisis of visceral fat and its role in chronic health issues. He argues that ultra-processed foods are harming our biology and that addiction to these foods is misunderstood. Kessler shares his personal struggles with weight, stressing the importance of targeted dietary strategies like ketogenic diets. The conversation critiques current dietary guidelines, reveals the connection between metabolism and mental health, and warns that GLP-1 drugs are merely a short-term fix.

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ANECDOTE

Kessler's Weight Struggle

Dr. David Kessler struggled repeatedly with weight gain and loss despite his medical knowledge and discipline.
His personal experience during COVID, gaining 40 pounds, motivated him to deeply explore metabolic health.

INSIGHT

Visceral Fat Causes Disease

The real problem is visceral adiposity, not just weight.
This toxic fat causes many chronic diseases and is metabolically active and causative.

INSIGHT

Ultra-formulated Foods Drive Addiction

Ultra-formulated foods trigger addictive brain circuits and metabolic dysfunction.
These foods fuel the accumulation of visceral fat and the chronic disease epidemic.

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Visceral fat, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction are driving the chronic disease epidemic—and yet, they're still misunderstood. In this compelling conversation, former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler, MD, explains why he believes visceral adiposity is the greatest public health failure of our lifetime.

Dr. Kessler brings decades of experience (as a pediatrician, legal expert, policy leader, and author of “The End of Overeating” and “Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine”) to explore how ultra-formulated foods impact our biology, why GLP-1 drugs are only a short-term tool, and how we’ve misunderstood addiction when it comes to food. He also opens up about his own struggles with weight gain and metabolic health, despite having all the professional knowledge and discipline in the world.

This interview covers:

The link between processed food, dopamine, and metabolic disease
Why insulin—not just glucose—should be front and center
The role of ketogenic and lower-carb diets for people with visceral fat or food addiction
What went wrong with the dietary guidelines
And what it will take to reverse course and reclaim our health

If you're a clinician, researcher, or someone navigating your own metabolic journey, this conversation is compelling viewing. Dr. Kessler doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does help clarify where the real problem lies and how we might begin to fix it.

Expert Featured:

Dr. David Kessler, FACHE

Resources Mentioned

https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Drugs-Dopamine-David-Kessler-ebook/dp/B0D33Y6L42/

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About us:

Metabolic Mind is a non-profit initiative of Baszucki Group working to transform the study and treatment of mental disorders by exploring the connection between metabolism and brain health. We leverage the science of metabolic psychiatry and personal stories to offer education, community, and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges and those who care for them.

Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications.