Treatment for drug addiction could be used to tackle sugar addiction, experts say
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“It may represent a novel new treatment strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic.”
By Natasha Hinde
People with sugar addiction could be treated with the same methods used to treat those with drug addiction, research has suggested.
Researchers from Queensland University of Technology conducted a study which found drugs used to treat nicotine addiction could also be used to treat sugar addiction – and therefore tackle the obesity epidemic.
There are currently 1.9 billion people worldwide who are overweight, with 600 million considered obese, according to the World Health Organization.
Excess sugar consumption has been proven to contribute directly to weight gain. It also elevates dopamine levels, which control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres.
Researchers likened the effect sugar has on the brain to drugs such as tobacco, cocaine and morphine.
“After long-term consumption, this leads to the opposite, a reduction in dopamine levels,” explained Professor Selena Bartlett from Q...
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