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Crisps found to be addictive

Tuesday 16th April 2013
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The common perception of crisps being addictive can now be explained scientifically, experts have claimed.

Researchers in Germany say that those who eat crisps regularly, experience a condition known as hedonic hyperphagia, which is a scientific term for eating to excess for pleasure rather than hunger.

The study was conducted at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Scientists studied the consumption behaviour of rats by feeding one test group crisps, another with standard food, and a third with a mixture of the two.

The brain activity of both groups were then tested using MRI devices.

The researchers found that although each group consumed the same amount of food, the rats sought out crisps more than any other food.

When the MRI scans were examined, they found that the reward and addiction centres of the brain recorded the most actibviyt when consuming crisps.

Areas of the brain involved with the intake of food, sleep, activity and motion were stimulated in a completely different way when eating crisps, compared with eating other foods, suggesting that there could be another reason why the rats sought after the snack.

Leading the research was Tobias Hoch, who said: "It's recreational over-eating that may occur in almost everyone at some time in life. And the chronic form is a key factor in the epidemic of overweight and obesity.

"The effect of potato chips on brain activity, as well as feeding behaviour, can only partially be explained by its fat and carbohydrate content. There must be something else in the chips that make them so desirable."

The findings come after experts after nutritional expert and author of Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us Up, claimed that the manufacturers of the crisps deliberately make them addictive.

A YouGov poll revealed that around a third of children eat one packet of crisps a day, which is the equivalent of consuming five litres of cooking oil.

Written by James Puckle

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