Junk Food Has Addictive Properties
Binging on high-calorie foods, long known as the main cause of the global obesity, may be as addictive as cocaine or heroin, a new study finds. According to the study published in Nature Neuroscience, rats may become addicted on a bad diet in the same way people become dependent on cocaine or heroin, indicating that the brain reacts similarly to junk food and drugs. Overconsumption of high-calories food in rats triggers addiction-like responses in the brain, leading to compulsive eating behavior and, subsequently, obesity.
Individuals borne with love levels of dopamine – a neurotransmitter involved in the feeling of pleasure or reward – are overweight. Low levels of the brain chemical is also linked to drug addition. “It presents the most thorough and compelling evidence that drug addition and obesity are based on the same underlying neurobiological mechanisms,” said lead researcher Paul Kenny.
Scientists hope their findings would pave the way for the development of more effective strategies to fight obesity worldwide. “Obesity may be a form of compulsive eating. Other treatments in development for other forms of compulsion, for example drug addiction, may be very useful for the treatment of obesity,” added Kenny.
Source: presstv.com