Given the cultural and economic aspects of food addiction discussed in this module, what sorts of changes might be needed from a societal aspect?

• Economic incentives that may encourage people to make unhealthy food choices may need to be re-evaluated on a larger scale.

– Any plan to combat the rise in obesity will need to address the economic, political, social, psychological, and biological factors that contribute to obesity, as well as factors such as taste, accessibility, convenience, cost, and level of promotion.

• Moreover, society may need to closely re-evaluate the current state of food marketing.

– Food-addicted persons respond at an even higher level to food cues than their non-addicted counterparts. Cues predictive of food availability are powerful modulators of appetite as well as food-seeking and ingestive behaviors.– These findings suggest that advertising cues contribute, at least in part, to compulsive eating in at risk persons.– Higher taxation of unhealthy choices may also need to be evaluated.

• Further, societal changes such as reevaluating where government subsidies are allocated, publicly enforced well-care programs, and corporate driven employee well-being programs may also be needed to address the issues of disordered eating and obesity.

References

1. Yach D, Stuckler D, Brownell KD. Epidemiologic and economic consequences of the global epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Nature medicine. 2006; 12(1), 62-66.

1. Gold J, Gold MS. Exercise for the overweight and obese. Curr Pharm Des. 2011; 17(12), 1193-1197.

1. Blum K, Liu Y, Shriner R, Gold MS. Reward circuitry dopaminergic activation regulated food and drug craving behavior. Curr Pharm Des. 2011; 17(12), 1158-1167.

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. Brownell KD, Koplan JP. Front-of-package nutrition labeling—an abuse of trust by the food industry?

N Engl J Med. 2011; 364(25), 2373-2375.

1. Brownell KD, Warner KE. The perils of ignoring history: Big Tobacco played dirty and millions died. How similar is Big Food? Milbank Q. 2009; 87(1), 259-294.

1. Gearhardt AN, Brownell KD. The importance of understanding the impact of children’s food marketing on the brain. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2013; 162(4), 672-673.

GO TO TEST ON COMPLETE FOOD ADDICTION MODULE