Word: foodes
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That is, the down-regulation of D2 receptors seems to turn normal desire into compulsion. In Kenny's study, the rats that had been given extended access to junk food for 40 days were later willing to continue seeking fatty foods at the risk of getting a painful electric shock to the feet. Limited-access and chow-only rats, however, were significantly put off by the threat of shock, and stayed away from the junk-food buffet...
...food trends...
...study did not measure stress in rats, but Kenny concedes that their living environment could have affected their response to junk food. "In some ways, you could draw parallels to humans," he says. "Some people live in enriched environments. They're well educated, have good backgrounds and have other sources of reinforcement. People who come from an impoverished background don't have the same access to sources of [meaning and pleasure]. They tend to migrate toward [things like junk food] that are now readily available and very cheap." (See 10 myths about dieting...
...question is, does this data really show that the ubiquity of cheap junk food will turn us all into junkies? Not really. A closer look at certain key elements of this study and of prior research helps clarify who - mouse or man - is most likely to get hooked and who isn't, and why addiction involves a lot more than mere exposure to a substance...
...human equivalent would be to study whether prisoners in solitary confinement choose to subsist on bread and water or eat junk food to excess. In such a situation, human obesity and overindulgence in the only source of environmental pleasure would be no surprise...