Researchers from Yale University have learned in a new study that food addiction is similar to drug and alcohol addiction. People with an addictive-like behavior appear to have more neural activity in certain parts of the brain.
"One third of American adults are now obese and obesity-related disease is the second leading cause of preventable death," wrote the researchers. "Unfortunately, most obesity treatments do not result in lasting weight loss because most patients regain their lost weight within five years. Based on numerous parallels in neural functioning associated with substance dependence and obesity, theorists have proposed that addictive processes may be involved in the etiology of obesity. Food and drug use both result in dopamine release in mesolimbic regions of the brain and the degree of release correlates with subjective reward from both food and drug use."
The researchers found that beautiful photos of food made the reward center of the brain become more active, in much the same way that photos of alcoholic drinks might do the same for alcoholics.
