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Are food addictions causing an obesity epidemic?
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Obesity is an epidemic in this country. More adults and children are overweight or obese than at any other time in history, and the trend is continuing. The number of children who are obese, according to one source, has increased by 45% over the last ten years.
Our diet is the number one reason for obesity according to Dr. David Kessler, former director of the FDA. The number of calories consumed by the ordinary person is far above the body need. The major culprits blamed for this overconsumption are fats and sugars.
Dr. Kessler examined the food and nutrient contents of many foods including pre-packaged meals, restaurant foods and “fast foods”. What he found was that most of these foods contain high quantities of fats, sugars and salt. Studies done on the brains of people after eating these nutrients, demonstrated that foods high in fats, sugars and salts stimulated the same pleasure systems in the brain that are stimulated by alcohol and drugs, thereby giving the same type of “high” or euphoria as do these addictive products.
Dr. Kessler hypothesized that fats, sugars and salts can, in some people, cause addictive eating patterns. Addictive eating patterns involve eating too much, eating when not hungry, or having extreme cravings for foods that are high in calories, fats and sugars. Addictive eating can add hundreds of unnecessary calories to a person’s diet on a daily basis. Extra calories mean weight gain.
In conclusion, consumption of foods high in fats, sugars, and salt is an addiction in many people. This addictive eating can lead to very high daily caloric intake which can lead to obesity in many individuals.
