Even a cursory glance at television commercials reveals the problem of fat addiction in our culture. Ads for fast food, chips, crackers and meals on the run have become the staples of family entertainment. It is no wonder that food addiction and obesity are fast becoming major problems in North America. Even more worrisome is the idea that excess food intake threatens not only the waistline, it is also a liability to the brain.
According to recent research led by Paul Kenny Ph.D at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, overeating can change the brain, triggering alterations that create a neurochemical addiction in the eater. Although this dependency has been shown in rats, its observations can be carried over into the human arena where similar brain changes have been seen in people addicted to drugs.
Overeating, like Drug Addiction, Creates Brain Irregularity
Because eating is such a pleasurable activity, it can produce behavior patterns similar to other pleasurable activities like sex or drug use. Eating initiates the release of dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter in the brain. Repeated episodes of overeating increase the likelihood that the activity becomes habitual.
Read more at http://www.suite101.com/content/fat-addiction-can-overeating-change-your-brain-a313965
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