Can a cookie be addictive? The idea that some overweight people are physically hooked to food is controversial, but now a new study is showing that, when it comes to sugar, some people just can't say no.
"I love food!" says Christina Morrison, battling weight loss. "I love baked goods, I love sweets."
And who doesn't?
"There's no doubt that specific components of our food supply in particular the big one is sugar, clearly affect the brain in ways that morphine, nicotine, cocaine, cannabis, ethanol all do as well," said Dr. Robert Lustig, researcher at University of California, San Francisco and member of the National Obesity Task Force.
Lustig and researchers from UC San Francisco are looking at how some foods trigger dopamine receptors in the brain that cause addiction.
"There are four criteria for addiction in humans: 1. bingeing, 2. withdrawal, 3. craving and 4. cross sensitization of other drugs of abuse," said Lustig.
Lustig believes all four of these factors are present when the body is given refined sugar. Researchers found that mice did not overeat when given their natural diet, but...
"If you supply the right stimuli to them and one of those stimuli is Oreo cookies," said Lustig.
The animals gorged themselves until all the cookies were gone. The same was true for Fruit Loops.
Cristina Morrison has battled with weight most of her life.
"I grew up with clean your plate, eat everything on your plate," she said.
After participating in a blind study at UCSF, Christina's lost 30 pounds and kept it off. She has learned eat only when she's hungry. She's also more aware of how her body reacts to sweets.
"I think when I drink diet coke, it makes me want a cookie, like they kinda go together. It's weird," she says.
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