Study: Oreo Cookies Addictive as Drugs

Oreo cookies are as addictive as illegal substances, according to a study conducted by Connecticut College, reports Fox News. The research study concluded that foods high in fat and in sugar trigger pleasure centers in the brain, just like drugs do.

The research team led by Neuroscience Professor Joseph Schroeder found that laboratory rats exhibited the same behavior towards Oreo cookies, cocaine and morphine. That is, they became addicted to all three. The team studied the effect that the cookies and the drugs had on the brain of the rats, and it came to the conclusion that 'America's favorite cookie' had the same impact of activating the pleasure center of the brain just like cocaine does, and astoundingly, the cookie activated more neurons as compared to the two other substances, reports CBS New York.

In their press release, Professor Schroeder explained that, "our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do. It may explain why some people can't resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them," reports the Connecticut College News.

Neuroscience major Jamie Honohan conceived the idea for the study as she grew interested in how populations in low-income neighborhoods preferred high-fat and high-sugar foods, especially since such populations largely contribute to the obesity epidemic. Honohan is on a scholarship with Connecticut College's Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy. She said, "we chose Oreos not only because they are America's favorite cookie, and highly palatable to rats, but also because products containing high amounts of fat and sugar are heavily marketed in communities with lower socioeconomic statuses," according to Connecticut College News.

To test Honohan's hypothesis that Oreo cookies are addictive, her team measured the association between "drug" and environment by putting laboratory rats in a two-part maze. On one side of the maze, rats were fed Oreo cookies while on the other side of the maze, the rats were fed rice cakes. After introducing the two types of food to the subjects, the researchers would allow the rats to choose which side of the maze they would spend time in, and measured how long the rats would stay there. The team used the same principle with testing the lure of morphine and cocaine against saline, and the rats behaved in the same way; they would pick the side of the maze where they were fed Oreo cookies and where they received shots of illegal substances.

The study is important in determining that high-fat and high-sugar foods are just as dangerous as illegal substances, in the sense that they impair the health in alarming levels.