Kozak, A. T., & Fought, A. (2011). Beyond alcohol and drug addiction. Does the negative trait of low distress tolerance have an association with overeating?. Appetite, 57(3), 578-581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.07.008 From the short communication’s abstract: “Linear regression models adjusting for sex and BMI demonstrated significant inverse associations among distress tolerance and emotional eating (P = 0.001), external eating (P = 0.002), and disinhibition (P < 0.001).”
Sweet preference, sugar addiction and the familial history of alcohol dependence: shared neural pathways and genes
Fortuna JL. (2010). Sweet preference, sugar addiction and the familial history of alcohol dependence: shared neural pathways and genes. J Psychoactive Drugs, 42(2), 147151. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2010.10400687 Review fortuna2010 .pdf
Addiction to Highly Pleasurable Food as a Cause of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: A Qualitative Internet Study
Pretlow, R. A. (2011). Addiction to highly pleasurable food as a cause of the childhood obesity epidemic: a qualitative Internet study. Eating Disorders, 19(4), 295–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2011.584803 From the research article’s abstract: “An interactive, open-access website was launched as an overweight intervention for teens and preteens, and was generally unsuccessful. An understanding was needed of the reasons for weight loss failures versus successes in youth using the site. Bulletin board posts, chat room transcripts, and poll responses were prospectively gathered and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed over a ten-year period. Many respondents, ages 8 to 21, exhibited DSM-IV substance dependence (addiction) criteria when describing their relationship with highly pleasurable foods. Further research is needed on possible addiction to highly pleasurable foods in youth. Incorporating substance dependence methods may improve the success rate in combating the childhood obesity epidemic.”
Sensitivity to alcohol in obese patients a possible role for food addiction
Avena, N. M., & Gold, M. S. (2011). Sensitivity to alcohol in obese patients: a possible role for food addiction. J Am Coll Surg, 213(3), 451; author reply 451452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iamcollsurg.2011.05.022 one page letter avena2011 .pdf
Food and drug reward: Overlapping circuits in human obesity and addiction
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Fowler, J. S., Tomasi, D., & Baler, R. (2011). Food and drug reward: Overlapping circuits in human obesity and addiction. In C. S. Carter & J. W. Dalley (Eds.), Brain imaging in behavioral neuroscience (pp. 1–24). Berlin: Springer. From the abstract: “… [Brain imaging discoveries] suggest that both obese and drug-addicted individuals suffer from impairments in dopaminergic pathways that regulate neuronal systems associated not only with reward sensitivity and incentive motivation, but also with conditioning (memory/learning), impulse control (behavioural inhibition), stress reactivity, and interoceptive awareness. Here, we integrate findings predominantly derived from positron emission tomography that shed light on the role of dopamine in drug addiction and in obesity, and propose an updated working model to help identify treatment strategies that may benefit both of these conditions. volkow2011 .pdf
Obesity as an addiction: Why do the obese eat more?
Von Deneen, K. M., & Liu, Y. (2011). Obesity as an addiction: Why do the obese eat more? Maturitas, 68(4), 342-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.01.018 From the research article’s abstract: “The rising number of obese individuals on a global scale has led the scientific community to determine the causes for this disease. Besides over-consumption of high-caloric foods and/or endocrine dysfunction, food addiction has been found to be a major culprit for weight gain. Food addiction results from craving certain food or food-substances so as to obtain a state of heightened pleasure, energy or excitement. Major intervention is needed in curbing these cravings and suppressing the appetite to promote weight loss. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been applied to study why obese individuals overeat. Introduction of this technology will serve as a means in paving the way for new weight loss drugs.”
Why do the obese eat more?
Von Deneen, K. M., & Liu, Y. (2011). Obesity as an addiction: Why do the obese eat more? Maturitas, 68(4), 342-345. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.01.018 The rising number of obese individuals on a global scale has led the scientific community to determine the causes for this disease. Besides over-consumption of high-caloric foods and/or endocrine dysfunction, food addiction has been found to be a major culprit for weight gain. Food addiction results from craving certain food or food-substances so as to obtain a state of heightened pleasure, energy or excitement. Major intervention is needed in curbing these cravings and suppressing the appetite to promote weight loss. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been applied to study why obese individuals overeat. Introduction of this technology will serve as a means in paving the way for new weight loss drugs. vondeneen2011 .pdf
Addiction: Decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain’s control circuit
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Fowler, J. S., Tomasi, D., Telang, F., & Baler, R. (2010). Addiction: decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain’s control circuit. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 32(9), 748–755. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201000042 From the research article’s abstract: “Based on brain imaging findings, we present a model according to which addiction emerges as an imbalance in the information processing and integration among various brain circuits and functions. The dysfunctions reflect (a) decreased sensitivity of reward circuits, (b) enhanced sensitivity of memory circuits to conditioned expectations to drugs and drug cues, stress reactivity, and (c) negative mood, and a weakened control circuit. Although initial experimentation with a drug of abuse is largely a voluntary behavior, continued drug use can eventually impair neuronal circuits in the brain that are involved in free will, turning drug use into an automatic compulsive behavior. The ability of addictive drugs to co-opt neurotransmitter signals between neurons (including dopamine, glutamate, and GABA) modifies the function of different neuronal circuits, which begin to falter at different stages of an addiction trajectory.
Addiction: decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain’s control circuit
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Fowler, J. S. , Tomasi, D., Telang, F., & Baler, R. (2010). Addiction: decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain’s control circuit. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 32(9), 748-755 . https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201000042 Review volkow2010 .pdf
Neurobiology of Food Addiction: Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care
Blumenthal, D. M., & Gold, M. S. (2010). Neurobiology of Food Addiction. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 13(4), 359-365. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.Ob013e32833ad4d4 Summary: First, work presented in this review strongly supports the notion that food addiction is a real phenomenon. Second, although food and drugs of abuse act on the same central networks, food consumption is also regulated by peripheral signaling systems, which adds to the complexity of understanding how the body regulates eating, and of treating pathological eating habits. Third, neurobiological research reviewed here indicates that traditional pharmacological and behavioral interventions for other substance-use disorders may prove useful in treating obesity. Study link