July 2, 2017 — In the New York Times Friday, psychiatrist Richard Friedman tells us that cookies and meth have a great deal in common. He’s taking up a popular, simple explanation for obesity: Contemporary humans did not experience a sudden collapse in self-control. What happened is that cheap, calorie-dense foods that are highly rewarding to your brain are […]
May 30, 2017 — For many people, food addiction explains obesity. Nevermind that scientists have some problems with the concept. While scientists debate, much of the public is embracing the idea. So what are the implications? Does the idea that people can get hooked on food lead to more or less stigma? Does it help people cope with eating […]
May 18, 2017 — At the 2017 European Congress on Obesity yesterday, ConscienHealth’s Ted Kyle presented data on contrasting views of obesity in Europe. These views provide a window into bias about obesity and people who have it. From a sample of 34,320 adults in Sweden, UK, Germany, and Italy, a fascinating picture emerges. Belief that obesity results from addiction to […]
April 26, 2017 — Why are we living with so much obesity? If you ask the public, this question has different answers in different cultures. New data, being presented today at the Canadian Obesity Summit in Banff, suggests that addictive junk food is an especially popular explanation for the problem – especially with Brazilians and French Canadians. Different Beliefs in Brazil, […]
November 14, 2016 — Perhaps you’ve seen Ricky Ricardo bringing Lucy pickles and sardines to go with her milkshakes on that classic episode of I Love Lucy. That’s a memorable depiction of craving foods that you might not really like. A new study in Appetite tackles the subject in a slightly more scientific way. Sarah Polk and colleagues set out […]
August 27, 2016 — The popular interest in food addiction is impossible to miss. A search for scholarly articles on the subject yields thousands of references in 2016 alone. A check for news items produces hundreds of thousands. Amazon will serve you more than seven thousand books on the subject. So Nicole Avena and Nina Crowley met with an […]
May 22, 2016 — The popular notion that obesity is caused by some sort of food addiction has a surprising number of true believers. Scientists can’t keep up with public enthusiasm for the concept. Though close to 75% of the public believes that food addiction causes obesity, scientists are having a hard time coming up with a definition of food addiction […]
November 15, 2015 — Food addiction continues to be a slippery concept, but one that has tremendous popular appeal. Some individuals with obesity are steadfast in their convictions that addiction to particular foods plays the a key role in their in their condition. However, objective evidence for addictive disorders in obesity has been elusive. In Progress in Brain Research, […]
October 29, 2015 — Reading the latest headlines on a new study published in Obesity, it’s hard to know whether we are supposed to think that sugar is addictive or poisonous. Robert Lustig says his new study provides “hard and fast data that sugar is toxic irrespective of its calories and irrespective of weight.” Perhaps we are supposed to conclude that […]
July 14, 2015 — Food addiction is a very real concern for a significant population of people who find that certain foods have addictive properties for them. Yet careful scientists who study addiction are sharply divided on this subject. Some argued vigorously for the inclusion of food addiction in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders […]
