Tag: addiction
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Researchers Examine Parallels Between Food and Drug Addiction
A recent article published in Biological Psychiatry reviews the research examining the neurological basis for food addiction and its relation to obesity. Nora Volkow, et al., “The Addictive Dimensionality of Obesity,” Biological Psychiatry, February 2013. Co-authored by National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow, the article proposes that drug and food addiction “share neurobiological processes…
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Yale Study Focuses on Food Addiction Stigma
A recent study examining the public stigma around food addiction has concluded that the “food addict” label “was perceived similarly to obesity, but more favorably than other addictions.” Jenny DePierre, et al., “A New Stigmatized Identity? Comparisons of a ‘Food Addict’ Label with Other Stigmatized Health Conditions,” Basic and Applied Social Psychology, February 2013. To…
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New Article Targets Food Addiction, Adolescent Obesity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Focusing on recent research into food addiction, a review article published in the Journal of Adolescent Health discusses “the need for multilevel interventions that go beyond simple behavioral approaches” in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) with increasing adolescent obesity rates. Albert Lee and Susannah Gibbs, “Neurobiology of Food Addiction and Adolescent Obesity Prevention in Low-…
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Psychiatry Professor Calls for Anti-Tobacco Initiatives to Address Obesity Epidemic
In a University of Oxford Press (UOP) blog post titled “From cigarettes to obesity, public health at risk,” University of Florida Psychiatry Professor Mark Gold advances his food addiction hypothesis and suggests, “If overeating is due to food acquiring drug-like or tobacco-like brain reinforcement properties, then the current globesity and overeating-related health crisis might have…
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Daily Beast Examines Food Addiction Theories
“[T]he theory that the brain responds to high-fat, high-calorie foods similarly to how it responds to drugs is now gaining scientific muscle, led by renowned names in the field of addiction,” reports The Daily Beast’s Laura Beil in an October 28, 2012, article describing so-called food addiction as “one of the hottest topics in obesity…
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Battle over “Addictive” Flamin’ Hot Cheetos® Heats Up
School districts in California, New Mexico and Illinois have reportedly publicized their intention to ban “Flamin’ Hot” Cheetos® snacks from campus vending machines and lunches over concerns about the product’s nutritional content. According to media reports, the schools in question have described the snack item as “hyperpalatable” with each bag containing 26 grams of fat…
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New Study Examines Shared Neurobiology of Obesity and Addiction
A recent study examining the shared neurobiological substrates of obesity and addiction has concluded that “there are several identifiable circuits in the brain, whose dysfunctions uncover real and clinically meaningful parallels between the two disorders.” N.H. Volkow, et al., “Obesity and addiction: neurobiological overlaps,” Obesity Reviews, September 2012. According to the study’s authors, “Drugs of…
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Study Investigates Dark Side of Chocolate Temptation
A recent animal study has reportedly identified a new mechanism by which the brain increases the desire to overconsume sweet and fatty treats like chocolate. Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, et al., “Enkephalin Surges in Dosal Neostriatum as a Signal to Eat,” Current Biology, October 2012. Relying on advanced opioid microdialysis techniques to detect extracellular levels of a…