Compulsive Eating of Junk Food can be as Addictive as Cocaine and Heroin

Scripps Research Study Shows Compulsive Eating Shares Same Addictive Biochemical Mechanism with Cocaine, Heroin Abuse

The Research Provides New Clues to Obesity Epidemic

JUPITER, FL, March 23, 2010 –In a newly published study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity.

Junk food can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.

The new study, conducted by Scripps Research Associate Professor Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, was published March 28, 2010 in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

View the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AY-cA8V9GPo

The study's startling findings received widespread publicity after a preliminary abstract was presented at a Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago last October. Articles heralding the new discovery appeared in news publications around the world, focusing on the point obese patients have been making for years – that, like addiction to other substances, junk food binging is extremely difficult to stop.

The study goes significantly further than the abstract, however, demonstrating clearly that in rat models the development of obesity coincides with a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in reward brain circuitries. As these pleasure centers in the brain become less and less responsive, rats quickly develop compulsive overeating habits, consuming larger quantities of high-calorie, high-fat foods until they become obese. The very same changes occur in the brains of rats that over consume cocaine or heroin, and are thought to play an important role in the development of compulsive drug use.

Kenny, a scientist at Scripps Research's Florida campus, said that the study, which took nearly three years to complete, confirms the "addictive" properties of junk food.

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Commentary
 
So who is to blame for the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes (they are related)? The people who eat compulsively, parents who don’t know any better and feed their families processed food, or the manufacturers of our food supply?

Have you ever looked at an obese child and wondered why they are overweight?

In my opinion the problem starts at home, and this is where the battle needs to be fought.

Through ignorance or simple laziness, parents are feeding their children processed food as opposed to healthy, nutritious, home-cooked meals. Ninety percent of the money spent on food in the U.S. is spent on processed food, food that lacks fiber and nutrition. To make matters worse, this food is heavily laced with man-made toxins that ensure that you become addicted to junk food and crave more (you over eat because the chemicals in your food have disabled your brain from telling you to stop eating).

AND THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM.

Make no mistake: the manufacturers of our food supply know precisely what they are doing. They are turning our children into food junkies, and they are doing it on purpose - all in the name of profit.

Parents need to become more proactive. They need to stop buying processed food and prevent their children from eating junk food. They need to lead by example. Fresh fruit and vegetables need to become the norm. Exercise and outdoor activities should become a way of life. The solution to the problem needs to be family-based.

Collectively, we need to vote with our wallets. Boycott anything containing high fructose corn syrup (the real reason behind the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the US), aspartame, bisphenol A (BPA), sugar, sodium benzoate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates and nitrites. Better yet, don’t buy anything that has a label.

The government can help by banning food additives such as high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, etc.

Eating healthful, fresh foods combined with moderate exposure to the sun and daily exercise is the solution to optimum health and wellness - and the ultimate solution to obesity.

Children’s Foundation for Nutrition and Wellness

I’m angry!

Sometimes it takes anger to drive you to do something.

I’m passionate about health and wellness and my personal philosophy is to “Improve the Quality of Life.” This does not apply to me alone, but to anyone and everyone.

Happy, healthy children are what all parents desire - so
why are so many of our children overweight or obese?

My dream is to live in a society free of disease where we can all live in peace and harmony. That’s the dream. And I know I cannot influence most of that. But I am determined to do what I can to improve the quality of life of others through education, helping them to live healthier and more productive lives.

So, why am I angry?

Every time I go shopping, I see parents with their shopping carts chock full with food – processed food. Not a single fresh item in sight! These parents normally have two or three children in tow - all of them overweight or obese.

And they are not alone.

The next time you go shopping, take a good look around you. Most people have shopping carts full of processed food: frozen foods, canned goods, instant meals, ice cream. Nothing but garbage in a pretty container or packet.

There’s nothing nutritious in these shopping carts. Is there any wonder that their children are overweight, obese and unhealthy?

I’ve made several blog posts lately about childhood obesity. In a couple of them, I’ve used the same image of an obese child. Every time I see this image, I get angrier and angrier. It’s not the children’s fault that they end up getting fat and unhealthy. They eat what’s given to them by their parents.

I now realize that merely writing about obesity is not enough. To make a difference I need to get more proactive.

This entire nation has been oversized and it’s time the madness ended.

We will start by educating the parents and the children. We will teach them about proper nutrition and reverse this perverse mindset that pervades our society.

The Children’s Foundation for Nutrition and Wellness is born.

Rate of Childhood Obesity Soars 10.8% in Four Years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. children eat an average three snacks a day on top of three regular meals, a finding that could explain why the childhood obesity rate has risen to more than 16 percent, researchers said on Tuesday.

Children snack so often that they are "moving toward constant eating," Carmen Piernas and Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina reported.

More than 27 percent of calories that American kids take in come from snacks, Piernas and Popkin reported in the journal Health Affairs. The researchers defined snacks as food eaten outside regular meals.

The studies will help fuel President Barack Obama's initiative to fight obesity in childhood, something Obama's wife, first lady Michelle Obama, notes could drive up already soaring U.S. healthcare costs.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote a commentary calling for taxes on sugary drinks and junk food, zoning restrictions on fast-food outlets around schools and bans on advertising unhealthy food to children.

"Government at national, state, and local levels, spearheaded by public health agencies, must take action," he wrote.

Piernas and Popkin looked at data on 31,337 children aged 2 to 18 from four different federal surveys on food and eating.

"Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children's daily calories are coming from snacks. The largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks," they wrote.

"Children increased their caloric intake by 113 calories per day from 1977 to 2006," they added.

CONSTANT EATING

"This raises the question of whether the physiological basis for eating is becoming deregulated, as our children are moving toward constant eating."

In a second study in the journal, Christina Bethell of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and colleagues analyzed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health to find the rate of obesity for children 10 to 17 rose from 14.8 percent in 2003 to 16.4 percent in 2007. (Editors note: This is an increase of 10.8% in four years!)

The percentage of children who are overweight stayed at around 15 percent, they found.

"While combined overweight and obesity rates appear to be leveling off, our findings suggest a possible increase in the severity of the national childhood obesity epidemic," Bethell said in a statement.

Parents, educators and policymakers all hold responsibility for this, Michelle Obama told the School Nutrition Association conference in Washington on Monday.

"Our kids didn't do this to themselves," Obama said.

"From fast food, to vending machines packed with chips and candy, to a la carte lines, we tempt our kids with all kinds of unhealthy choices every day."

Other studies have shown that obese children are more likely to stay obese as adults, and they develop chronic conditions at younger ages, burdening the healthcare system.

"You see kids who are at higher risk of conditions like diabetes, and cancer, and heart disease -- conditions that cost billions of dollars a year to treat," Michelle Obama said.

The administration has launched an initiative to tackle the issue by improving nutritional standards, getting food companies to voluntarily improve nutrition standards, help kids exercise more and educating parents.

The effects extend beyond health. Bethell's study found that overweight or obese children were 32 percent more likely to have to repeat a grade in school and 59 percent more likely than normal weight kids to have missed more than two weeks of school.

Commentary

At first glance, constant snacking may be seen as the problem, but this is just on a surface level. We cannot merely blame the kids for constant snacking. It’s not their fault. Blame it on the corporations that make these worthless snacks. Blame it on the kids' parents who mostly want to take the easy way out when it comes to feeding their family.

Problem #1

The biggest problem we have is that some of the corporations that make these snacks invariably include all kinds of man-made chemicals in the manufacturing process. These chemicals literally “hook” the kids. They eat more because the additives in these snacks trick the brain into believing that you are still hungry.

These chemicals are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – the real reason behind the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the U.S. – and aspartame, a neurotoxin that was previously listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent. How aspartame got into our food chain is the stuff movies are made from, and Michael Moore ought to be all over this for his next explosive documentary.

The Obama administration should ban the use of these toxic chemicals in our foods. This will save billions in healthcare costs going forward. There are natural, safe alternatives to HFCS and aspartame. We should use them. The reason we don’t use them is because they cannot be patented and therefore the manufacturers of these toxic chemicals cannot make billions of dollars whilst they poison the nation.

Problem #2

Parents need to understand the problem. They need to educate themselves about the cause of childhood obesity and how it can be avoided and remedied.

We live in a fast-paced world. Many parents use this excuse to avoid cooking healthy, freshly-prepared meals. This needs to stop. Parents need to become more acquainted with proper nutrition and healthy eating.

Mindsets need to be altered. Lifestyles need to change.

The epidemic of childhood obesity can be stopped dead in its tracks, but it requires commitment from the parents: A commitment to learn, and a commitment to change.

Problem #3

Schools need to be more proactive. They are there to educate. They should pay more attention to health and nutrition education and ban the sale of unhealthy foods and snacks on school grounds. Their pupils will thank them for it later in life. Better still, let’s pass some federal laws banning the sale of unhealthy foods and snacks on school grounds.

Problem #4

We need to educate the children. They need to know why so many of their peers are obese and overweight. They need to understand the importance of proper nutrition and regular exercise.

This education process should be started at schools, but probably will not. And parents should continue the education process at home. They need to lead by example.

Childhood Obesity: Mrs. Obama, Here is the Solution

The first lady, Michelle Obama, has launched a very ambitious plan to end the American plague of childhood obesity in a single generation. I applaud her for this herculean task.

“We want to eliminate this problem of childhood obesity in a generation. We want to get that done," the first lady told Good Morning America's Robin Roberts in an exclusive morning television interview. "We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan."

*

The first lady, Michelle Obama, has launched an
ambitious program to combat childhood obesity.

The far-reaching, nationwide campaign called "Let's Move" calls for a myriad initiatives that target what Mrs. Obama calls four key pillars: Getting parents more informed about nutrition and exercise, improving the quality of food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and focusing more on physical education. This is a great idea and I wish Mrs. Obama luck with this initiative.

"We all know the numbers," said Mrs. Obama. "I mean, one in three kids is overweight or obese, and we're spending $150 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses. So we know this is a problem, and there's a lot at stake."

At a recent meeting of governors, Mrs. Obama sought their support for her program to tackle childhood obesity, but the only support she really needs is someone much closer to her: the President. And the solution is relatively easy, but do the Obama’s have the courage to tackle it?

The real cause of the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in America is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a man-made chemical added to just about every processed food. This poison interferes with your hormones (this is the way your body communicates at a cellular level) and prevents your brain from telling you that you are full and need to stop eating.

If you consider that of all the money spent on food in the USA, ninety percent (yes, 90%!) is spent on processed food, devoid of any fiber or nutrition and chock full of HFCS.

Educating parents and exercise is part of the solution, but it's unlikely to help much if you keep eating processed food that contains neurotoxic chemicals designed to make you eat more. BANNING HFCS will win the war against childhood obesity and diabetes – it will kill two birds with one stone.

Banning HFCS will not be easy – there are too many “vested interests” and the food and pharmaceutical companies will no doubt have a lot to say, but the President needs to do this. If ever he (and for that matter, the first lady) wants to leave behind a legacy of note, then THIS IS IT. It will save millions of people from a lifetime of suffering, not to mention the billions of dollars in wasted and unnecessary medical bills.

President Obama appointed the new head of the FDA. It’s time he put pressure on her to do the right thing. The health of the nation depends on it.


* Source: Getty Images

Strong Link Between Childhood Obesity and Premature Death

According to government figures, 32 percent of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese.

The results of a recently concluded study on childhood obesity were published in The New England Journal. The results are troubling, but certainly not surprising.

Obese children have more than double the risk of
premature death due to natural causes.

The study found that the heaviest quarter of participants had more than double the risk of premature death due to natural causes – such as heart disease, cancer, alcoholic liver disease, diabetes and infections – than those whose body mass index put them in the lowest quartile of the population.

Parents should take note that when they take their children to the doctor for a check up, their child’s blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels can all be fine, but if their child is obese, it’s the obesity that needs to be addressed since this is the cause of premature death.

The researchers wrote: “Our observations, combined with those of other investigators, suggest that failure to reverse this trend may have wide-reaching consequences for the quality of life and longevity. Such evidence underscores the importance of preventing obesity starting in the early years of life.”

You can read the full story here: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/362/6/485