Is There a Danger in Losing the Pleasure of Food?

Justin Sung and Dana Small are two neurobiologists offering us some very basic wisdom. It is wisdom with roots in a sophisticated understanding of biology. We should take care not to lose the pleasure of food.

In PLOS Biology, they offer a very cogent argument in defense of the pleasure of food. Their bottom line is quite simple:

“The pleasure of eating food is not a driver of the obesity epidemic, but rather the regular consumption of an unhealthy diet blunts sensitivity to interoceptive signals that drive food reward.”

They go on to explain the neurobiology behind their thinking. It is this biological science that provides foundational support for concluding “it is unlikely that eating for pleasure drives the obesity epidemic.”

Hyperpalatable Foods?

An alternate school of thought holds that the “hyperpalatable” properties of ultra-processed foods explain why these foods have an association with obesity. The pleasure of eating such foods must surely explain how they drive overconsumption and obesity.

But in fact, say Sung and Small, neuroscience suggests this is untrue. It is not increased pleasure from consuming these foods that leads to obesity. Rather, it seems that some foods can reduce interoceptive signaling between the brain and gut. There are many interoceptive signals that are critical to maintaining the body in a healthy state. They can be signals that a person feels consciously. Or they can be subliminal.

The signaling that Sung and Small are focusing on is subconscious. It is signaling that tells the brain when the gut is getting adequate nutrition. Certain foods, often ultra-processed, seem to reduce this signaling. Thus they can drive overconsumption not because they are hyperpalatable or so pleasurable to eat. Rather, it may be because they dull the body’s ability to signal the brain that it is receiving enough nutrition to keep it healthy.

Pleasure Is Not the Problem

This aligns with our concerns about redefining food as medicine, rather than nourishment and pleasure. Finding pleasure in food is not problematic. In fact, enjoyment of food is a fundamental value it offers us. If we try to dull the pleasure that food gives us, we will cause more problems than we solve.

Reducing obesity is not about taking away the pleasure of food. It is about fixing the signals that drive us to eat more than we need for good health. These, say Sung and Small, are probably not signals of pleasure – they are more likely signals that we neither control nor even feel.

Click here for the paper by Sung and Small, here and here for further perspective. For more on the enjoyment of food for life and pleasure, click here.

Feast of the Redeemer, painting by Maurice Prendergast / WikiArt

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January 12, 2026