I dropped two dress sizes recently. Accolades are not entirely in order as I didn’t really try – never have believed in to diets – I’m too lazy! But as I got thinner, I began noticing just how fat we are as a population. Obesity is on the rise, with 16 to 20% of Irish women and men respectively being overweight. There are many reasons for this, and here may be yet another one...
Food may act physiologically like a drug for some people. According to a researcher (Sheeley McGuire, PhD): "We've known for years that foods- even eating, itself- can trigger release of various brain chemicals, some of which are also involved in what happens with drug addiction and withdrawal.’’ She goes on to suggest that repeated use of food (habituation) is sometimes accompanied by a lack of response, or in other words a loss of interest in food. This can actually lead to a lower calorie intake. Many diets utilize this idea, and meals become monotonous. For example, liquid diets or low carbohydrate diets. The other side of that is the idea that when presented with a variety of foods, calorie intake will increase.
The ‘’food addiction hypothesis’’ proposes that some people may overeat because they are insensitive to the normal ‘loss of interest’ response. They have lost their habituations reflex. So they can easily keep eating the same food (and possibly lots of it) without getting bored. This brings to mind people ordering half a dozen burgers and chips; tasteless and monotonous.
The study is pretty boring to read, but concludes that reducing variety of food choices may be a method of dieting. As if Atkinson doesn't already know that. The idea of habituation interests me, and I wonder if that stretches to other aspects of our lives?
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