New study: Food like cocaine for obese people.

[Judah Maccabee]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...1_%5BFeed%5D-9

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The same brain circuits are involved when obese people fill their stomachs as when drug addicts think about drugs, a finding that suggests overeating and addiction may be linked, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

The finding may help in creating better treatments for obesity -- a growing problem in the United States and elsewhere.

"We wanted to know why, when people are already full, why people are still eating a lot," said Dr. Gene-Jack Wang of Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.



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The volunteers were all genuinely hungry -- they had been fasting for 16 or 17 hours when the PET scans were run. The stimulator succeeded in making them feel less hungry, Wang said.

But the surprise was in which brain circuits it used in doing so.

"It was very similar to a study on when cocaine abusers, when they think of cocaine, they have a craving for cocaine," he said.

"This new pathway should be explored in further studies to determine if there are any implications for treating or preventing obesity."

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Interesting that the pathways activated were similar to those of coke addicts.

Does this change your image of obese people or obesity?

[Slydermv]

Not really. Coke addicts become that addicts because they are idiots and abuse the drug.... fat people abuse food. Don't do it in the first place and you'll be fine...

[PirateJon]

And what of the ones that already started? Addicts need more help than just a "don't eat so much fatty" or a "quit snorting so much". Willpower only gets you so far.

But as a still recovering fatty, I'd say that most obese people aren't addicts.

[Seraphim]

Don't do it in the first place and you'll be fine...

Quite possibly the best advice. I like to further simply it to a new commandmant

"THOU SHALL NOT!"

But if everyone had self control we won't have anything to talk about.

[Shuma-Gorath]

Maybe if you had a sense of humour you wouldn't have to settle for fat chicks.

[Camus]

If you starve yourself long enough, eventually you won't be hungry anymore

Try it sometime

[Neildo]

Wait, this is new?

I thought i heard about this last year.

Fatty eats food, Crackie smokes crack, Same brain activity stimulated.

[pauli]

does this mean i'm going to see more fat people on cops?

[Cullion]

You mean crack addicts enjoy crack and fat people enjoy food ?

People are being paid to tell us this ?

[Mjelva]

fatties suck good dick because they're hungry