Shared Risk Factors for Binge Eating andSubstance Dependence

• Impulsivity
• Sensitivity to Reward
• Mood and Anxiety Disorders
• Neuroticism
• Emotion Dysregulation
  • Food, especially when it is rich in fat and sugars, stimulates brain reward circuitry, in part, through the release of endogenous opioids, cannabinoids, and DA.
  • Since these are some of the same neuropathways and neurotransmitters associated with drug addiction, some have suggested that repeated exposure to certain foods in vulnerable individuals may result in compulsive food consumption, poor control, conditioning to food stimuli, and ultimately excess weight gain.

  References

  1. Cocores JA, Gold MS. The Salted Food Addiction Hypothesis may explain overeating and the obesity epidemic. Medical hypotheses. 2009; 73(6):892-899.
  1. Avena NM, Gold MS. Food and addiction – sugars, fats and hedonc overeating. Addiction (Abingdon, England) 2011; 106(7), 1214-1215.
  1. Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Sugar and fat bingeing have notable differences in addictive-like behavior. The Journal of nutrition. 2009; 139(3), 623-628.
  1. Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Orr PT, Stice E, Corbin WR, Brownell KD. Neural correlates of food addiction. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 68(8), 808-816.
  1. Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Stice E, Harris JL, Brownell KD. Relation of Obesity to Neural Activation in Response to Food Commercials. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience. Apr 10 2013. [Epub ahead of print].