#133 Food Addiction with Dr Nick Fuller

Can we be addicted to food? This is quite a hot topic and one that is more relevant than ever. On the one hand we have food companies and respected scientists telling us that food addiction is a myth. Because we don’t see people smashing windows or stealing money from loved ones to fund a ‘hamburger habit’, the concept of food addiction is farcical.

On the other hand, recent work on food use disorders has demonstrated that the same neurobiological pathways implicated in drug abuse also modulate food consumption.

And if we consider Obesity costs the UK £47bn a year and has the second largest impact on the economy of 3% GDP (after smoking), we really should properly discuss whether food addiction is real and plays a role.

On the podcast today we have the amazing obesity researcher Dr Nick Fuller who brings together a diversity of skills having held positions in both the industry and academic sectors. His current position as commercial and industry program leader within the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney involves working with government and industry to identify and develop cost-effective treatments for the treatment and management of obesity and related physical and mental health disorders.

He is also the author of three best-selling books on the Interval Weight Loss program and Nick’s work has resulted in policy change in the field of obesity and metabolic disease and his research has been published in The Lancet and JAMA.

Today we talk about:

• What addiction entails
• How the brain shapes food choice
• The body’s regulation of food intake which involves a complex set of peripheral and central signaling networks.
• The impact of environment, stress and psychological state in food choice
• Practical tips to avoid or rewire food choice
• How to start new behaviours and how long it will take

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