Food Porn and the Brain, 3

Using the Yale Food Addiction Scale, the top 12 foods identified by University of Michigan researchers as most likely to trigger addictive-like behaviors were:

	1.      Pizza 2.      Chocolate 3.      Chips 4.      Cookies 5.      Ice cream 6.      French fries		7. Cheese burgers   8. Sodas   9. Cake 10. Cheese 11. Bacon 12. Chicken

 

Researchers found that the brain reward system of study participants fired up when the individuals thought about, pictured, looked at, or ate these types of foods. Researchers also discovered that during a period of six months, participants who choose to change this pattern were able to do so. At the end of six months, the brain reward system no longer lit up with the unhealthier foods and did fire up when participants thought about, pictured, looked at, or ate healthier substitution foods (e.g., sweet potatoes instead of French fries). Many of the foods food porners report drooling over can be found on the list of top 12 foods most likely to trigger addictive-like behaviors. This means that they are, in effect, training the brain reward system to crave such foods. Part 4 tomorrow.