> Any "solution" that basically tells people to ignore their hunger, one of the body's most basic physiological responses, is not a viable society-wide solution.
But people have lost track of what hunger is!
They tell you they're hungry but really they're bored / depressed / just used to eating constantly even when not actually hungry.
They need to ignore being bored, which they think of as 'hunger' so you need to tell them to ignore their 'hunger' for them to understand.
This is exactly right, and also why I highly encourage people to experiment with fasting (for at least 24 hours) to reset your baseline for what real hunger actually feels like.
What we normally associate with "hunger" is actually a hormonal response from the body's release of ghrelin. It's not real hunger. You're not going to die if you don't eat. Moreover, we also experience "boredom" hunger, which isn't even a hormonal response, it's simply a mental addiction to the feeling of something tasty in your mouth.
It's absurd that we've conditioned society to believe that stuffing our faces with food upwards of three times a day is "normal". It's not. That's why obesity rates are through the roof and CVD is the number one killer.
That being said, I'm doubtful that telling the average person this will have any effect on their eating habits. So OP may be right that it's no solution to tell people to "ignore that feeling you think is hunger". You can lead a horse, but you can't make it drink.
But people have lost track of what hunger is!
They tell you they're hungry but really they're bored / depressed / just used to eating constantly even when not actually hungry.
They need to ignore being bored, which they think of as 'hunger' so you need to tell them to ignore their 'hunger' for them to understand.