Another day, another scientific study that reveals that everything we love is eventually going to drive us to early graves and/or madness. In this case, a group at Connecticut College used lab rats to research a theory that foods high in fats and/or sugars are just as addictive to human beings as drugs. More specifically, they put rats in a maze that had rice cakes on one side and Oreo cookies on the other, and obviously you can guess that the rats went straight for the delicious, cream-filled snack. Even rodents know that rice cakes are for suckers.
So what did this study in “No duh” reveal? That the creamy awesomeness found at the center of the Oreo is just like crack to at least two species. Oh, and a lot of people are obese because delicious-yet-horrible foods are addictive.
“These findings suggest that high fat/sugar foods and drugs of abuse trigger brain addictive processes to the same degree and lend support to the hypothesis that maladaptive eating behaviors contributing to obesity can be compared to drug addiction,” [Joseph] Schroeder’s team writes in a statement describing the study, to be presented at the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego next month.
“It really just speaks to the effects that high fat and high sugar foods and foods in general, can have on your body. The way they react in your brain, that was really surprising for me,” says Lauren Cameron, a student at Connecticut College who worked on the study.
“I haven’t touched an Oreo since doing this experiment,” Schroeder says. (Via Today)
Don’t worry, Joe. I’m not sure your results are going to do much to stop anyone else from eating Oreos anytime soon. They could be made of flesh-eating bath tub heroin and someone is still going to ask where the Double Stuffs are.