Do ultra-processed foods trigger a dopamine response similar to addictive drugs and does this impact eating behavior and obesity?
Overview
- What did they find? The researchers examined the effect of drinking an ultra-processed milkshake high in fat and sugar on brain dopamine responses in 61 healthy adults to determine if participants exhibit an exaggerated dopamine response to this meal and if the response is related to body fat levels.
- What did they test? Researchers found that consuming the ultra-processed milkshake led to highly variable dopamine responses that weren’t significantly higher than baseline levels and weren’t related to adiposity.
- What does it mean for you? There is currently debate about the addictive nature of highly processed foods, especially those rich in fat and sugar. Some evidence suggests that these foods may activate similar reward pathways as addictive drugs and that this may be a driver of obesity. The findings of this study suggest that these foods may not have a significant impact on dopamine response regardless of body fat levels. It is likely that the tendency to over consume these foods, and their ability to override natural appetite regulation, is related to factors other than dopamine responses.
What’s the problem?
Purpose
Food can activate reward pathways in the brain and this is thought to be a significant driver of food overconsumption and obesity 1. This is especially true for calorically dense highly processed foods rich in sugar and fat 2.There is also some evidence that individuals with higher body fat percentage may experience higher brain dopamine responses to food which may be a significant driver of obesity 3. The purpose of this study was to determine if consumption of an ultra-processed milk shake rich in fat and sugar had an impact on brain dopamine responses and if these responses were related to body fat levels.
Hypothesis
The researchers hypothesized that consumption of a calorically dense ultra-processed drink would elicit a significant brain dopamine response and this response would be more pronounced among individuals with higher levels of body fat.
