In a laboratory in Jupiter, Florida, scientist Paul J. Kenny conducted an experiment that brought an interesting association to light. People, rats, and food addiction. As many of you know, food addiction is very common, and Kenny realized this too. But instead of just noticing this common factor amongst humans, he asked himself: why? This curiosity drove him into his lab where he gave rats unlimited access to food. Once the rats had become immune to having this everlasting supply of food, Kenny scared them out of ever going near the food again. He did this by attaching a taser to the feet of the rats that would shock them whenever they got near the food. Kenny also set up a flashing light that would go off the same time the rats would get tased. The rats did not listen. The rats gained weight. The rats became obese.

One factor that separates the association of food addiction between rats and humans is not addressed in Kenny’s experiment, however. Though humans are relentless, we are weak. Food addicts do not stop because they cannot admit the truth to themselves. In April of 1987, Deborah Slawson wrote about her battle with food addiction and stated, “This lack of recognition by those who suffer from the disease may be due in large part to fat oppression by fat people.” It is not just the neurology behind addiction that keeps food addicts motivated. It is also the neurology behind human emotion. Food addicts are embarrassed and ashamed about their disease so they do not even admit their addictions to themselves. It is easier for them to cope with the harshness of society against obesity if it simply is not true. However, society, no matter how harsh it can be, is not the real problem when it comes to food addiction.

The human brain itself is the real enemy. Nothing gets in the way of our brains, nothing fully pleases our brains, nothing starts or stops working quite like our brains. “Our brains maintain healthy body weight by signaling when to eat and when to stop. Hormones regulate feeding circuits that control appetite and satiety” (Kenny). However when it comes to fatty and sugary foods they “can motivate some people to overeat. The more they have it, the more they want it, a sensation common in drug addiction” (Kenny). Why is this, though? Why does something that is only made to keep us alive cause a tendency that leads to death?

Paul J. Kenny was able to find out during his rat experiment that, “During periods of hunger, hormones heighten the reactivity of food-related reward circuits in the brain, particularly in the striatum.” These hormones are the real dangers of food addiction, especially when they are overcompensated. The brain forms a tendency known as “sensory specific-satiety.” This tendency forms when “big, distinct flavors overwhelm the brain, which responds by depressing your desire to have more” (Moss). This is why, even if you do not realize, you desire snacking more than eating four course meals you cannot pronounce.

Much like the rats in Paul J. Kenny’s lab, people become immune to snacking. The body develops a physical tolerance to the over consumption of snacks and, therefore, allows for further over consumption. This tolerance is easy to build up in a short amount of time because of how fast the endorphins run through the brain after the feeling of over consumption passes. Once this tolerance has been built then anatomical changes, physiological changes, and behavioral changes occur. There are many common physiological changes that worsen over time that many people are not aware of. Among these are “hangovers induced by excess sugar consumption, extreme pain from a distended stomach, varicose veins, swollen feet, leg cramps after short walks, and the feeling of never getting enough sleep, even after twelve to fourteen hours of sleep a night” (Slawson).

Even if people are aware of these side effects, before or after it happens to themselves, it does not seem to make a difference. “Today one in three adults is considered clinically obese, along with one in five kids, and 24 million Americans are afflicted by type 2 diabetes, often caused by poor diet, with another 79 million Americans having pre diabetes” (Moss).