Study Suggests Sugar May Be Addictive
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Dec 12, 2008, 4:37:45 AM12/12/08
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Study Suggests Sugar May Be Addictive
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Science is verifying what many
overeaters have suspected for a long time: sugar can be addictive.
In fact, the sweetener seems to prompt the same chemical changes in
the brain seen in people who abuse drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the American College of
Neuropsychopharmacology's annual meeting, in Nashville.
"Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can
act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse," lead
researcher Bart Hoebel, a professor of psychology at Princeton
University, said during a Dec. 4 teleconference.
"Drinking large amounts of sugar water when hungry can cause
behavioral changes and even neurochemical changes in the brain which
resemble changes that are produced when animals or people take
substances of abuse. These animals show signs of withdrawal and even
long-lasting effects that might resemble craving," he said.
Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program
at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New
York City, added: "The big question has been whether it's just a
behavioral thing or is it a metabolic chemical thing, and evidence
like this supports the idea that something chemical is going on."
A "sugar addiction" may even act as a "gateway" to later abuse of
drugs such as alcohol, Hoebel said.
The stages of addiction, as defined by the American Psychiatric
Association, include bingeing, withdrawal and craving.
read complete article on
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100228625>1=31036
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Science is verifying what many
overeaters have suspected for a long time: sugar can be addictive.
In fact, the sweetener seems to prompt the same chemical changes in
the brain seen in people who abuse drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the American College of
Neuropsychopharmacology's annual meeting, in Nashville.
"Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can
act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse," lead
researcher Bart Hoebel, a professor of psychology at Princeton
University, said during a Dec. 4 teleconference.
"Drinking large amounts of sugar water when hungry can cause
behavioral changes and even neurochemical changes in the brain which
resemble changes that are produced when animals or people take
substances of abuse. These animals show signs of withdrawal and even
long-lasting effects that might resemble craving," he said.
Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program
at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New
York City, added: "The big question has been whether it's just a
behavioral thing or is it a metabolic chemical thing, and evidence
like this supports the idea that something chemical is going on."
A "sugar addiction" may even act as a "gateway" to later abuse of
drugs such as alcohol, Hoebel said.
The stages of addiction, as defined by the American Psychiatric
Association, include bingeing, withdrawal and craving.
read complete article on
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100228625>1=31036
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