The urge to binge: is overeating like a drug addiction?

We are bombarded by images of food everywhere we turn. Television ads, billboards, and creative product packaging are constantly telling us we're hungry. For many, these images flash by without registering a second thought. But what if your brain is hardwired to see food as a reward?

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience discovered that for some people, images of delicious foods activated reward centers in the brain. When those centers are activated in certain people, those people may be driven to overeat. These findings may have broader implications in other areas of compulsive behavior, including drug addiction.

This might explain why current trends in obesity are so hard to reverse. When a person's brain overreacts to images of delicious food, will power and self-control are not always enough. Researchers in this particular study are calling for more corporate responsibility when it comes to food advertising.

I'm not going to let anyone take responsibility for my poor eating choices but me. That said, even after a day of eating right and exercising, if that Whopper I see on TV could come right through the screen, I'd probably eat it. The satisfaction I feel from taking care of myself is often overwhelmed by the urge to eat things I shouldn't. I think the researchers in this study may be on to something!