Brain's Pleasure System Stimulates Overeating

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120503103446.html

The results from a study at the University of Naples in Italy is leading researchers to claim that for societies where hunger is not an issue, eating can be motivated by pleasure and can subsequently lead to overeating. "Hedonic hunger" is a term that refers to eating for pleasure and the enjoyment of taste rather than eating for the body's needs. For example, craving desert after eating a filling meal is hunger driven by pleasure and not by energy deprivation. Comparing adults who given "healthy" meals to those who were given their personal favorite foods revealed an increase in the activation of the chemical reward systems in the subjects' brains who ate their personal favorite foods. This is a somewhat scary thought when considering obesity issues and the fact that the chemical reward system can override the body's signal that enough has been eaten to restore energy.