cannabisnews.com: Studies: Overeating Akin To Drug Abuse 





Studies: Overeating Akin To Drug Abuse 
Posted by CN Staff on July 15, 2004 at 17:40:33 PT
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter 
Source: HealthDay 
Overeaters may have much in common with drug abusers, new studies suggest.Illicit drugs snare users because the drugs engage brain pathways associated with appetite and the enjoyment of food, said Dr. Mark Gold, chief of addiction medicine at the University of Florida School of Medicine in Gainesville and co-author of three papers published on overeating, obesity and addiction in the current issue of the Journal of Addictive Diseases.
What's the difference, he asks, between someone who has lost control over alcohol or other drugs and over good food? "When you look at their brains and brain responses, the differences are not very significant," he said."Really great food acts in the brain like a drug," he said.This "food-as-drug" model, considered radical by many in the medical community 10 years ago, is now given serious consideration, Gold added.And he proposes that overeating is in part due to food becoming more palatable, hedonistic and refined. Food might be the substance in a substance abuse disorder that we see today as obesity, he said.About 24 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and above are now obese, according to estimates from a 2003 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics.Obesity might also be a hidden hazard, Gold and others say, for those starting on the road to sobriety. "Drug abstinence, stopping any drug dependence -- whether alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine -- causes rebound increases in appetite and the drive for food," Gold said.Drug or alcohol addiction treatment should include a plan for a healthy diet and regular exercise, Gold said. In one of the studies, Gold and his team found that 75 teenagers in a long-term residential treatment program gained an average of 11 pounds during the first 60 days off drugs.If drugs are available, eating declines, but if the drugs are gone, eating increases, Gold believes.Another study correlated obesity and self-reported alcohol use in 300 women, aged 16 to 79, undergoing weight-loss treatment. The more obese they were, the less likely they were to drink alcohol, the researchers found.The theory is that eating and drinking alcohol are competing in the brain for the "reward pathways."The similarities between overeaters and drug abusers presents new potential treatment approaches, Gold said. "Some of the treatment for addiction might be treatment for obesity," he said. "There will be a whole host of new treatments proposed because we start to see eating highly palatable, highly enjoyable foods as different than eating broth but similar to using drugs of abuse."Another expert calls the new studies interesting, but added they don't hold true for everyone. "Some may eat a lot and use drugs together," said Steve Sussman, a professor of preventive medicine and psychology at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.The concept of encouraging a healthy diet for those trying to quit an alcohol or illegal drug habit isn't new, said Sussman, an expert in drug abuse treatment and addiction. "For the past 15 years, a variety of recovery books have suggested you should do this."Still, the studies' findings are valuable, he said. "The main importance of the studies is the fact that there is finally empirical data supporting what was folk wisdom," Sussman said.Note: Good food acts in the brain 'like a drug,' expert says.Sources: Mark Gold, M.D., chief, addiction medicine, University of Florida School of Medicine, Gainesville; Steve Sussman, Ph.D., professor, preventive medicine and psychology, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles; Journal of Addictive Diseases More information: To learn more about drug abuse, visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse. -- http://www.drugabuse.gov/Source: HealthDay (CT)Author: Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter Published: July 15, 2004 Copyright: 2004 ScoutNews LLC. Contact: editors healthday.comWebsite: http://www.healthday.com/Related Articles:Marijuana Munchies Lead To Possible Diet Drug http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18287.shtmlMarijuana Munchies May Hold a Key To Obesity http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9340.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by observer on July 16, 2004 at 20:11:17 PT
Eating Akin to Drug Use!
Overeaters may have much in common with drug abusers, new studies suggesttranslation: Eating may have much in common with drug use, new studies suggestOvereating Akin To Drug Abuse translation: Eating Akin to Drug Use.National Institute on Drug Abusetranslation: Our mission is to see all "illegal" drug use is equated with abuse. Use is abuse.Abusus non tollit usum. [Abuse is no argument against proper use.] -- Latin proverb
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Comment #5 posted by Jose Melendez on July 16, 2004 at 14:38:35 PT
food addiction called disease
HHS' Thompson: Just saying no to criminal penalties - from: http://www.healthcentral.com/news/NewsFullText.cfm?id=1504507 Medicare Defines Obesity as an Illness                                                           Medicare participants could be filing claims for diet programs and obesity treatments like stomach "stapling" surgery under a new Medicare policy that treats obesity as an illness."Obesity is a critical public health problem in our country that causes millions of Americans to suffer unnecessary health problems and to die prematurely," said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, in announcing the new policy. He said problems linked to obesity result in billions of dollars in health-care costs, according to an account from the Associated Press.
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Comment #4 posted by RavingDave on July 16, 2004 at 11:14:11 PT
The Solution Is Obvious
I think it's clear what we have to do - BAN FOOD! Congress can convene a special hearing, and place all food under the Controlled Substances act (Schedule I, no known medical use). The DEA can get into the act. Why, they won't need much surveillance - just hit the nearest supermarket and arrest everyone on-site.Just think of the new ad campaigns the ONDCP will come up with. What a hoot! And no more McDonalds! Peace and prosperity at last!Of course, alcohol and tobacco will remain legal.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on July 16, 2004 at 09:26:42 PT
Gluttony: the only sin left!
The other day I was walking through a suburban town here in the Northeast US. It was having a summer festival. The town square was packed with food vendors - fried dough, sausages, hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream. I thought to myself, in our sterile, techno-pure society, food is the only sin left! There used to be brothels & gambling houses, boxing, outdoor beer festivals & alcohol sales, dive bars where everyone smoked tobacco. The modern suburb has fanatically cleansed every one of those "seedy" elements.The high schools are now barely different from 24-hr lockdown prisons. On their time off, the students are haunted by over-funded, over-staffed, over-equipped police departments, eager to confiscate their beer and herb, eager to ruin another young life just for the vinidictive satisfaction.Is this freedom? Is this the way men and women were destined to live? Modern state, federal & local governments have taken over the role of the Church. Practice heresy through sex, tobacco, cannabis, live music, gambling, or public alcohol use repeatedly and you will quickly be removed to the nearest gulag. I was watched the National Geographic channel last night. They've found cocaine residue in urns from South American societies 5000 years old! Mankind needs something to take the edge off. Take away the traditional outlets, and the need will be filled by food and prescription medications.
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Comment #2 posted by cloud7 on July 15, 2004 at 18:23:42 PT
I think it's obvious without doing any studies 
"What's the difference, he asks, between someone who has lost control over alcohol or other drugs and over good food?"They go to jail.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on July 15, 2004 at 17:57:33 PT
Okay, Sherlock
Are you telling us there are two big types of indulgences? There are outside and inside indulgences, with the law set out on making everyone guilty of something? Those indulgences should not put anyone outside the law or inside the injustice system. Free Cannabis For Everyone is part of a unifying theory in regards to the problem with dual worlds of upside down and what is right. How is this guy going to teach anyone anything if he leaves out the unifying theory that answers the problem of dual worlds. The unifying theory does away with arbitrary lines that have previously crowded the issues and all indulgences are considered to be outside indulgences, as in outside of prison.Sounds like he is serious though. He is still just another surface scratcher.
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