“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist” (Charles Baudelaire). Fatty, sugary, and salty foods have addictive power. Food isn’t like a drug; food is a drug. The desire to eat in the presence of hunger is for survival. The desire to eat without hunger is a chemical craving. If dopamine is low, it can instantly be boosted just by the sight, smell, touch, or thought of highly palatable (fatty, sugary, salty) food. Dopamine leads us to eat rewarding foods, which in turn stimulates the pleasure-enhancing opioid circuitry in our brains. The process is cyclical: eating highly palatable food activates the opioid (feel good) circuits, and activating these circuits increases consumption of highly palatable foods. All human beings experience this cycle- we all like food that tastes good and enjoy eating it- but some people can put the fork down before spiraling down a binge eating episode. It is much more difficult for some people than others. Most of us have a steady and fairly consistent release of dopamine when not being stimulated… then when given a reward (cocaine, fatty/sugary/salty food, etc), transient bursts of increased dopamine can be detected in the brain. Those with addictive tendencies may have low levels of dopamine which makes the rush that they get from the idea of food all the more rewarding. The desire/reward cycle can suck people in who are vulnerable to food addiction, and once the process begins, they feel almost helpless in stopping it. This is not because they are weak, and it doesn’t always mean that they are overweight or obese. What it means is that they may have addictive tendencies, and that needs to be recognized and channeled in other ways.

This is an excerpt from The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Three features of food exert a powerful influence on our desire for more.
First, quantity. Give a person two scoops of ice cream rather than one, and they’ll eat more. Portion size matters.
Second is the concentration of rewarding ingredients. Adding more sugar or fat to a given portion boosts its desirability (although only to a point; in excess, either one can lessen its appeal).
Finally, variety plays an important role. Providing access to different kinds of food is one way to increase stimulation. Another way is dynamic contrast. The Oreo cookie, for example, with its combination of flavors and textures (bitter chocolate wafer, sweet cream filling), is a classic example of food with dynamic contrast.
Sugar and fat are reinforcing, and cues, quantity, concentration, and variety all increase that reinforcement value. That still doesn’t mean everyone will go after these foods with equal effort. Some people are likelier than others to find food more reinforcing and are thus willing to work harder to obtain it. What the evidence tells us is that sugar and fat, as well as the cues predicting that sugar and fat are available, can condition the behavior of those who are vulnerable. (P. 33-34)

“Conditioning can happen quickly. In one study, people were given a high-sugar, high-fat snack for five consecutive mornings. For days afterward, they wanted something sweet at about the same time each morning that they had been fed the snack, even though they had not previously snacked at that time. Desire had already taken hold. (P.51)”

Kessler, David. The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York: Rodale, 2009. Print.