Food addiction Dr Robyn Brown, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Addiction to food – is it possible? Food is necessary for our survival so the concept of food addiction seems ludicrous, but it appears the particular brain changes which occur in people with cocaine and other addictions also occur when some people eat high fat, high sugar foods. Dr Robyn Brown gives us an insight into the neurological mechanisms that lead to food addiction. She covers:
Obesity statistics, causes
Obesogenic environment
The Neuroscience of Addiction and how highly palatable foods affect the brain in similar ways to drugs of addiction
Rat Studies (these are fascinating. One study showed obesity prone rats don’t gain weight on a diet of chow)
How addiction therapies may be of assistance in the treatment of the compulsive overeating associated with obesity.
Clinical strategies – education of treatment providers, reducing stigma, empowering patients through knowledge
Robyn is an NHMRC Peter Doherty fellow at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne. She contributed to a number of breakthrough studies on neuroplasticity and cocaine addiction which then led her to establish an independent line of research into food addiction.
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