People who are obese are sometimes thought to have a character flaw. But, as reported by Science Daily in May 2010, if this were so, 60 percent of the population would have a character flaw. In recent years, it has been acknowledged that obesity is not the result of a bad character. Rather, it is a response to anxiety, depression or a stressful environment. Overeating is very addictive, so it only takes a few weeks for it to become an nearly unbreakable habit.
Food Addiction
According to a study published in the December 2009 issue issue of "Nature Neuroscience," fat is addictive in the same way that cocaine and heroin are addictive. Cocaine and heroin intake normally leads to a pleasant experience. This pleasant experience is associated with an increase in the neurotransmitter dopamine. This neurotransmitter is well-known for its association with addiction. When the stimuli that led to the pleasant experience is lacking, dopamine motivates the addict to get more of it.
Dopamine Receptor
In all the types of addictions studied so far, addictions tend to intensify over time. The reason for this is that with increased exposure to the drug or food, the body down-regulates the expression of dopamine receptors. When there are fewer receptors for dopamine to bind to, the amount of pleasure associated with use of the drug or consumption of food decreases. So, larger amounts of the addictive substance is needed to generate the same pleasurable effect.
Addiction After Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery is a procedure that reduces the size of the stomach, either by inserting a band around the stomach, by removing a part of the stomach, or by redirecting the small intestine to a small part of the stomach. These kinds of surgery immediately breaks food addictions because overeating would cause painful damage to the remaining part of the stomach.
Even after bariatric surgery, however, the body is still crying out for pleasure. Since food cannot play that role, people turn to other substances. Philip R. Schauer, M.D., and Kathleen Ashton, Ph.D., note that the turn to other addictions after bariatric surgery is additional evidence that food addiction is a real kind of addiction.
Stress and Overeating
As reported in Science Daily on May 18, 2010, overeating can alleviate stress in the same way that drugs and alcohol can alleviate stress. The pleasurable experiences decrease fear processing in the brain and slow down the release of stress hormones from the adrenal glands. Overeating can thus help stabilize mental health. Mental health stability is important for physical health, as stress hormones can cause cardiovascular problems. But as obesity normally damages physical health more than stress alone, overeating or other bad habits are not a healthy response to a stressful environment.
References
- "Nature Neuroscience"; Dopamine D2 Receptors in Addiction-Like Reward Dysfunction and Compulsive Eating in Obese Rats; Paul M. Johnson and Paul J. Kenny; December 2009
- Obesity Help; Addictions After Bariatric Surgery; Philip R. Schauer, M.D., and Kathleen Ashton, Ph.D
- Science Daily: Good Results of Bad Habits? Research Explains Paradox
