Saturday, July 25, 2009

Will work for food


An internet news headline that caught my attention – “Eating Habits in the Obese May Echo Drug Addicts’ Patterns” - was reported Wednesday in an article by HealthDay News.

The article reported that when researchers gave similarly "sinful" snacks to obese and non-obese women, the healthy-weight women wanted less of the treat over time, but obese women wanted more. An article on this research study appears in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

All participants in the research study were asked to "work" for their food by performing tasks for which points were earned toward eating. Researchers discovered that non-obese women who snacked on 300-calorie portions exhibited no increase in motivation to eat, but motivation did increase in obese women who consumed the larger portion.

"They actually worked harder for the food," said Jennifer Temple, lead author of the research study. In some cases, women still wanted the food even though they didn't like it, a behavior similar to that seen in drug addicts. Ms. Temple stopped short of calling overeating an addiction but commented that she thinks it has all the same properties.

So the next time you have some chores requiring a reliable helping hand, don’t strike out by asking your “Slim Jim” friend. Instead, go buy some sinful snacks and ask your fatso food addict friend who, more than likely, will work for food.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

No comments: