Most of us under 40 were still raised in cultures where our parents grew up immediately after the war. The concept of "finishing your plate, whether you were full or not" was universal - precisely because their parents remembered shortages.

They passed it on to us before there was a chance to introspect the nutritional and psychological realities of food.

My partner and I are both overweight and we are trying to do a better job with our child - giving them healthy but delicious options, while also not turning any junky food into a reward or a mystery that must be guarded or doled out in careful portions.

So far, we're okay. Not sure how this is going to last once the kid gets into school age...

The old drive to eat anything meets an industry of chemists who spend their lives making the food on the shelves as addictive as possible. It's relatively hard to become morbidly obese without snacking on highly processed food all the time.

By making it "as addictive as possible" you mean "tastes good"?

Yes, but not exclusively so. A key ingredient to really addictive food is also that it's not very filling and easy to eat.