Do you want to be healthy, release weight, and become smarter? Listen up

Recently, I attended a summit Food Addiction: The Obesity Epidemic Connection in IslandWood, Bainbridge Island, WA. For more info go to www.foodaddictionsummit.org



Scientists came from all over the country and parts of the world. They were from Yale, Princeton, UCLA, Rockeffeler, University of Florida, France etc. They were joined by therapists, writers, journalists, philanthropists who wanted to know more. Why? There is now a growing concern, refined foods and sugars may be addictive and playing a major role in our obesity epidemic.



Here are some stats on that. Let's start with children. One in five children in the US is overweight. In the last 30 years, childhood obesity has doubled and is increasing among younger children. The question asked in the summit. Are we exposing our children to substances, refined sugars and processed foods that cannot help but create a generation of young addicts? As for adults, you know the answer, 39 million Americans are obese, a lot more are overweight. Are we doing much about it? Let's start with the science. Here are some of the presenters and what they said. Please understand the presentations were complex and comprehensive this is a very simplistic summary. I suggest you check the website. www.foodaddictionsummit.org for more complete info.



Kelly Brownwell PhD from Yale. He is the director at Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.


In his popular book "Food Fight: this Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis and What We Can Do ABout It" he and co author Katherin Battle suggest public policy iniatives for reversing the obesity epidemic. He questions what if the focus is on food and what it does to the body and the brain, in a way we can posssilby project the public health impact. Information on food addiction Dr. Brownwell feels could help remove the stigma tied to obesity.





Dr. Gene Jack Wang MD is the Chairman of Brookhaven National Laboratory Medical Department. He uses medical imaging techniques to study brain disorders. He found morbidly obese subjects had reductions in DA D2 receptors (brain dopamine receptor levels) which are similar to that observed in drug addicted subjects. This means, these people just as those addicted to drugs are predisposed to search for strongly rewarding reinforcers except in this case it was food (insntead of a drug) to temporarily compensate for decreased sensitivity of their DA regulated reward circuits.

NOTE: In neuroscience, the reward system (studied to understand addiction) is a collection of brain structures which attemp to to control and regulate behavior, cognitive and reward mechanisms by introducing pleasure effects. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter studied in addiction because it has many functions in the brain including important roles in reward, cognition and behavior.

Ernest Noble PhD and MD is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavorial Sciences and Director of Alcohol Research Center Semel Institute for Neuroscince and Human Behavior at UCLA School of Medicine. "It is well established that food (particularly carbohydrates) like alcohol, when consumed, increases brain dopamine levels. He found with his colleagues the DRD 2 A1 allele (the minor form of the D2 dopamine receptor gene to be associated with) alcohol addiction is also associated with obesity.





Serge Ahmed PhD Scientist at the Univeristy of Bordeaux France. In his research he found intense sweetness can surpass coaciane reward, even in drug sensitized and addicted individuals. "Sociologists, economists and epidemiologists have accumulated strong evidence linking increased accessibility and consumption of refined sugar with obesity in vulnerable populations, such as, for instance, chidlren and adults from poor communities. His findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward.





Bert Hoebel PhD Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Princeton University


Sugar Addiction: Bingeing, Withdrawal and Craving. "Evidence from animal models suggests sugar can act on the brain in ways similar to drugs of abuse. Eating large amounts of sugar when hungry, also known as sugar-bingeing, can cause behavioral and neurochemical changes in the brain that resemble those produced when someone takes substances of abuse including morphine, cocaine and nicotine. "





Eric Stice phD Senior Research scientist at teh Oregon Research Institute


"His program of research has primarily focused on the elucidating genetic and environmental factors that increase the risk for onset of eating overeating disorders and obesity, as well as the development and evalution of prevention programs for these conditions. He states "It has been theorized that elevated reward from food intake or anticipated food intake increases risk for overeating. However it has also been theorized that individuals who experience weaker activation of dopamine based reward circuitry in response to food intake may overeat to compensate for this reward deficit.





Irene Yaroslavsky PhD of the Leibowitz Laboratory, Rockefeller University


Mechanisms of Food Cravings


Dr. Sarah Leibowitz PhD has led animal studies exploring metabolic and neural antecedents for the overconsumption of fat and alcohol. " A major reoccuring theme in our research is the existence of a positive feedback loop, whereby a meal rich in fat activates certain brain systems that further stimulate fat intake. More specifically we have shown that brain systems involved in a palatability and reward can both stinulate and be stimulated by the intake of preferred diets rich in fat."

Kay Sheppard, Ma LMHC, CEDS

is the pioneer in food addiction treatment. She wrote the first best selling book on the subject. "Food Addiction: The Body Knows: From the First Bite and Food Addiction: Healing Day by Day. A licensed mental health counselor she conducts workshops and food adicts worldwide. " I came to appreciate that the brain and body of a food addict reacts differently to addictive foods due to the inherited predisposition to the disease of addiction. Addictive foods stimulate and increase the transmission of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. When the brain is flooded with these neurotransmiters, euphoria results leading to the compulsive pursuit of mood change by engaging repeatedly in episodes of binge eating despite adverse consequences."

There were other presenters who shared their research, programs and ideas.

Dr. Mark Gold MD Food as an Addiction College of Medicine Brain institute at University of Florida

Elissa Epel PhD Co Director of the UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment and Treatment

Cravings and Chronic Stres: Why the Candy Industry thrives when the economy declines

Jefrey Grim PhD Co Director of the Northwest Center for Research on Eating Behaviors.

Abstinence make sthe Heart Grow Fonder: Incubation of Sucrose Craving.

Yvonne Sanders Butler Ed PhD who as the principal of Browns Mil Elementary banned all fods high in refined sugars, high fat, and processed foods and drinks from the cafeteria. The results, immediate drop in absenteeism, improvements in attention, and general increase in energy levels and grades.

Connie Benett, Author of Sugar Shock

Joan Ifland PhD, MBA Founder and Chair of Refined Food Addiction (REFA) Research

Foundation.

Ellot Blass PhD University of Massachusetts. Evolutionary and Devleopmental bases of Eating Addictions.

To get all the presentations in full go to

www.foodaddictionsummit.org

What next?

This is an epidemic and what concerns me the most is our children. Find out what your children's schools are offering. Get involved, contact Dr. Yvonne Sanders Butler. Get documentation to back your claims. Kids need to start eating better and moving more. Our schools are feeding them sugars and processed foods and yet we expect them to be healthy and smart.

We have to start somewhere. Knowledge is power. Don't expect the government or food companies to make the changes. We the people are ultimately responsible for what we and our children eat. Get armed with adequate information.