Addiction to Food and Brain Reward Systems

Overeating is emerging as one of the most pressing health issues affecting developed countries. While it is known that overeating leads to overweight and obesity and a number of associated health risks, the etiology of overeating remains unclear. Overeating shares many characteristics with substance use disorders. Furthermore, overeating has been characterized as an addiction and most likely arises from a combination of abnormal cognitive and neuroendocrine processes. Although emotional states have been shown to mediate reward processing, the implications for hunger mediating reward have not been fully elucidated. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between overeating and obesity with other substance addictions and the neural circuitry they share. Additionally, we discuss genetic and environmental influences on eating behaviors and the implications that these influences have on treatment.