New research to investigate link between binge eating and food cravings

A new research project has been launched in the US exploring the link between food cravings and obesity.

The work, conducted by the Monell Chemical Senses Centre at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, will build on earlier studies looking at whether binge eating is linked to cravings, said Dr Marcia Pelchat, an associate member at Monell: “We're finding evidence that overweight people are more likely to have cravings, but we don't know if these cravings are a cause or effect of obesity.”

She added: “There is also a parallel between the brain structures involved in drug addiction and food cravings, which could help us understand more about obesity.”

While chocolate cravings in pre-menstrual women were often ascribed to a need to boost mood-lifting seratonin levels, seratonin-boosting anti-depressants did not, however, get rid of cravings, she said. Likewise, hormone treatments did not seem to affect cravings either, challenging the theory that cravings were purely hormone-related.

A series of studies had also demonstrated that controlling portion sizes was critical to controlling humans' 'automatic eating response', she said. “We don't stop when we are 'full'. The portion size affects how much we eat.”

A study recently published by Unilever senior scientist David Mela in the journal Appetite, also challenges the notion that humans eat large quantities of foods purely because they taste wonderful.

Food choice, claimed Mela, is not directly related to the sensory pleasure we derive from eating particular products. 'Liking' food and 'wanting' it are two separate things, he insisted. “The challenge is to understand the drivers of variance in eating behaviour and to apply this knowledge to food development, marketing and public health guidance.”