The relationship between food addiction and impulsive personality

A new research from the University of Georgia proves that impulsive personality is not always linked to drug and alcohol abuse, but to unhealthy eating as well. The results of this study are published in the journal Appetite. The researchers discovered that impulsive people are associated with food addiction and obesity. According to James MacKillop, the study's principal investigator and associate professor of psychology in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the notion of food addiction is a new aspect and generated interest. More than 1/3 of adults in the US are obese which leads to further problems, such as stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer. “Modern neuroscience has helped us understand how substances like drugs and alcohol co-opt areas of the brain that evolved to release dopamine and create a sense of happiness or satisfaction”, said MacKillop.