Curb Your Eating
Help Your Brain Fight the Urge to Splurge
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\n Ever tried to eat just one potato chip, or take just one bite of chocolate cake? It may feel impossible. A little nibble triggers an urge to eat more. Some people feel driven to keep eating to the point where the food\u2019s no longer enjoyable. You know the resulting weight gain will harm your health. So why do you keep eating when it\u2019s not in your best interest?
\nOut-of-control behaviors around food can look and feel remarkably similar to an addiction to drugs and other substances. In fact, imaging studies have shown that addictive drugs can hijack the same brain pathways that control eating and pleasurable responses to foods. NIH-funded researchers are closely studying the biology of overeating to try to find new ways to help people curb these out-of-control behaviors.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s an addictive element to foods\u2014especially high-fat, high-sugar foods\u2014that drives many of us to overeat,\u201d says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIH\u2019s National Institute on Drug Abuse. She\u2019s been studying the brain\u2019s role in drug addiction and obesity for more than 20 years. Volkow and other scientists have found that high-calorie foods, like addictive drugs, can trigger the brain\u2019s reward system, releasing brain chemicals such as dopamine that make you feel terrific. So it\u2019s natural to want more. In fact, wanting more helped early humans survive.
\n\u201cOur brains are hardwired to respond positively to foods that have a high content of fat or sugar, because these foods helped our ancestors survive in an environment where food was scarce,\u201d Volkow says. \u201cIn today\u2019s society, though, highly rewarding foods are everywhere. And our brain\u2019s reward system for foods is now a liability.\u201d
\nSeeing, smelling, tasting, or even hearing certain cues\u2014from food ads on the radio to the smell of cinnamon buns in a shopping mall\u2014can make us crave fattening foods when we\u2019re not even hungry. Brain studies show that food cues can be especially strong in people who are obese or at risk for weight gain. In one NIH-funded study, volunteers who had a heightened brain response to a sip of a milkshake when they weren\u2019t hungry were more likely to gain weight a year later.
\nWhile some brain areas drive us to seek sweets and fatty foods, other regions at the front of the brain can help us control our urges. We can help our \u201crational\u201d brain regions take control by avoiding tasty temptations and developing healthy habits.
\n\u201cEach of us should be aware if there are certain foods that we can\u2019t stop eating once we start. Avoid having them at home. Don\u2019t buy them or start eating them, because that might trigger binge eating,\u201d Volkow says.
\nMake healthy eating a part of your everyday routine by swapping unhealthy habits with healthy ones. Eat fruit instead of cookies as a daily dessert, or have a mid-day snack of crunchy carrots instead of potato chips. Instead of walking directly to the refrigerator after work, take a walk through your neighborhood. Over time, healthy habits can become wired in your brain. You\u2019ll do them without even thinking.
\n\u201cChildhood and teen years are ideal times to develop healthy habits,\u201d Volkow says. \u201cHealthy eating habits will help protect them in the future against the diseases associated with obesity.\u201d
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References
Basolateral amygdala response to food cues in the absence of hunger is associated with weight gain susceptibility. Sun X, Kroemer NB, Veldhuizen MG, et al. J Neurosci. 2015 May 20;35(20):7964-76. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3884-14.2015. PMID: 25995480.
Overlapping patterns of brain activation to food and cocaine cues in cocaine abusers: association to striatal D2/D3 receptors. Tomasi D, Wang GJ, Wang R, et al. Hum Brain Mapp. 2015 Jan;36(1):120-36. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22617. Epub 2014 Aug 21. PMID: 25142207.
\nThe addictive dimensionality of obesity. Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Tomasi D, Baler RD. Biol Psychiatry. 2013 May 1;73(9):811-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.12.020. Epub 2013 Jan 29. Review. PMID: 23374642.
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