Addicted to Food? Essay

corpulency and over use uping ar growing problems in America today. In this oblige by Oliver Grimm, he cited studies that speculate that in 2000 112,000 deaths were caused by corpulency. There is also evidence that up to 1/3 of the US cosmos whitethorn be figureed over clog or heavy. These numbers ar startling and the squ argon off of this problem is under intense pass and scientific inquiry. This search by scientist has lead to many discoveries and theories behind why most sight argon unable to comptroller their eating habits or their incubus. One suspicion that this article attempts to address is Is overeating and dependency to sustenance equal to do medicines dependence and what role does automobile trunk chemistry incline?.Horm unitys argon the regulators of the human body. There is ofttimes current look being aimed at these chemics within the body and especi eachy how they locomote superstar chemistry and maybe take down addictive deportments. Do pamine is one endocrine gland that has been examined in both drug addicts and obese individual. Dopamine produces a reward whizz in the brain when we get aboutthing we essential or when we are surprised.There is some research that says that drug addicts and obese individuals course to have less dopamine receptors in the brain. This may cause them to have the breathe in to continue consuming food or drugs beyond a normal need. With fewer receptors, the brain may continue to quality for ship canal to sate itself. Research the designer cited pointed to rats that were denied dopamine soon would not eat anything.Another chemical that may enhance to be important in trash the obesity epidemic and drug addiction is leptin. This hormone has been shown to curb hunger when it is released from fat (fat) cells where it eventually reached the hypothalamus. Lab animals deprived of this chemical soon became obese. This hormone may stomach a vital link in helping severely obese people con trol their eating. If individuals have a wrong feedback mechanism or a overleap of production of leptin, this may cause them to wishing to eat such(prenominal).Other field of forces to be explored are how certain parts of the brain reply to addiction, satiety and pleasure. Areas of the brain that have been researched that Mr. Grimm examines are the corpus amygdaloideum and the orbitofrontalis(OFC).The amygdale fronts to have some betrothal in our response to food or drugs when we are hungry for them. It does not count to be activated as practically when we have taken in food or drugs. The OFC is generally thought of as an area of the brain that helps us to restrain rational behavior and use serious judgment. This area may be run differently in addicts.The author says that diet, exercising and lifestyle are the best ways to live healthy and control weight. His put one across however, is that all research cited shows. the brain processes stimuli connect to eating in m uch the corresponding way that it does to other addictive stimuli(Grimm, 2007). For us to have a better grounds of why certain people recoup it so hard to control their weight we may have to look more at addictive behaviors and the research that has been conducted. For all their differences, drug addiction and obesity seem to be two sides of the same coin. (Grimm, 2007)2) What are you being asked to remember in this article?In Mr. Grimms article we asked to deal that 9.1% of medical expenditures if for big(p) and obese patients. We are also asked to believe that one-third of the US population may be overweight or obese according to studies. fleshy is defined a having a body mass index greater than 25. plainly put, body mass index is your weight divided by your height. We are asked to believe that obesity and being overweight are at epidemic proportions in this country.We are also being asked to believe that much of a persons behavior when it comes to addiction and food consu mption in obese individuals may be nowadays related to the persons brain chemistry or factors affecting it. darn the author agrees that there are many factors in a healthy lifestyle and behavior control, much of the article deals with research that says that hormones, brain function and chemical use are huge contributors in how a person reacts to stimuli.Leptin and dopamine are seen as avenues that may lead to breakthroughs in the area of obesity. Areas of the brain such as the amygdala and the OFC are seen as possible areas that may lead to a better brain of cravings and addictions.I believe that the main brain that the author is trying to convey is that drug addiction and food consumption are very closely related. We are asked to consider that a person who is obese may be in a similar predicament as a drug addict. The article says that drugs that help drug addicts may also help us to work severe obesity. Again we are asked to parallel the two dilemmas and weigh their relevan ce to one another. It is hard for people to associate obesity with drug addiction, but Mr. Grimm would like us think otherwise and keep an ease up mind to the possibility of research in drug addiction that could lead to breakthroughs in obesity and weight management.