Food Addiction Flashcards
How much of the US is overweight/obese?
2/3
Food addiction (definition)
loosely defined as hedonic eating behavior involving the consumption of highly palatable food in quantities beyond homeostatic energy requirements
Overeating in an addictive framework
addiction occurs when an individual with a predisposition for addiction is exposed to the addictive substance and results in pathological consumption despite catastrophic consequences; we must identify specific foods or additives that are associated with pathological consumption
Which foods are addictive?
not all foods are equally implicated in addictive-like eating behavior
highly processed foods (high sugar and fat content)
Proponents to overeating as an addiction
behavioral similarities to drug addiction
classical and operant conditioning
cue reactivity
craving and withdrawal
cognitive control
down-regulation of reward circuitry
Food addiction and reward circuitry
hyper-palatable foods hijack our body’s inborn signals governing food consumption
Neuroimaging studies have shown obesity is correlated with deficits in which systems, similar to cocaine-addicted individuals?
deficits in frontal-striatal systems
Binge Eating Disorder Diagnostic Criteria
recurrent and persistent episodes of binge eating
- eating more rapidly than normal
- eating until feeling uncomfortably full
- eating large amounts when not physically hungry
- eating alone because of shame regarding how much one is eating
- feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after operating
absence of regular compensatory behaviors (purging)
Food addiction effects on incentive salience
palatable foods carry strong motivational power; decrease in striatal D2 receptors in obese individuals are correlated with decreased frontal metabolism
Food addiction and HPA dysregulation
protracted stress can cause the HPA axis to become dysregulated; associated with increased consumption of highly palatable foods
