Poster Session 05 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes
Final Abstract #104
A generation of addicts: A study of hyper-palatable food exposure on adolescents in the United States
Rachel Wang, Brooklyn Technical High School, Queens, United States
Category: Addiction/Dependence
Keyword 1: eating disorders
Keyword 2: addiction or dependence
Keyword 3: adolescence
Objective:
A literature study was conducted to determine the prevalence, causes, and detrimental health effects of hyper-palatable food consumption and addiction in adolescents in the USA. Possible prevention methods were proposed to mitigate the negative effects.
Participants and Methods:
A systematic literature review methodology was used to identify and summarize the effects of hyper-palatable food exposure on children. This analysis was conducted through an initial search through PubMed, Google Scholar, and Psycinfo combining and iterating the following search terms: ‘Obesity,’ ‘Hyper palatable,’ ‘addiction,’ ‘adolescent,’ and ‘United States.’ This search yielded 67 results in the current decade. The 20 most relevant articles were selected for deeper study.
Results:
According to the CDC, obesity costs the U.S. healthcare system nearly 173 billion a year and in the last 40 years, there has been a massive overconsumption of ultra-processed foods. Hyper-palatable food contains both homeostatic and hedonic components which allows food to be a potent and pleasurable stimulus to the brain’s pathways. Gratification associated with food consumption leads to dopamine (DA) production which activates the reward center in the brain that induces cravings and hedonic charge of food. Despite this, the U.S. places no regulations on the amount of fat, sugar, and salt in the food content making addictions to hyper-palatable foods both hard to break and costly.
Conclusions:
The availability of ultra-processed foods, engineered to maximize palatability, is aligned with increasing obesity rates. Hyper-palatable foods are increasing health risks in adolescents by providing addictive nutrient-deficient diets. Possible intervention methods to prevent noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases include raising awareness, educating children in schools, and creating support groups.
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