The answer is yes — if you have one of these four personality traits.
Addiction to food, especially sweet foods, is a hot topic these days. Women talk about it as a joke ("This cheesecake is so addicting! Did you put crack in it or something?"), as coping mechanism ("Chocolate is my drug."), and as a straight-up reality ( "I'm like an addict around sugar, I can't even keep it in the house!"). But is any of that actually true? Can people really develop an addiction to certain foods? And if so, who's at risk?
The answer may not be as straightforward as we like. It depends on two things, according to a round-up of recent research into addiction: First, some foods are more likely to be addictive. Second, some people are more likely to be addicted. It shouldn't be a problem for most foods and most people, but combine a highly addictive food with a person with a highly addictive personality and you have a recipe for disaster.
Highly addictive foods are fairly easy to identify. They're usually some combination of fat, salt, and sugar, often in very refined states (think candy, cookies, ice cream, chips, cake, chocolate - basically all our favorite treats). Who hasn't opened a package, thinking they'll have just a bite or two only to polish off the whole thing? There's a reason for that. Brain imaging scans show that these types of foods trigger the same brain mechanisms as substance abuse, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Now, no one is saying the effects of sugar-laden treats are the same as the effects of cocaine, just that we can crave treats with the same intensity.
When it comes to identifying people at a high risk for addiction, however, it gets a little trickier. Researchers studying rats have identified several personality traits that are linked with a higher susceptibility to addiction of any type:
1. Impulsive. No, we aren't talking about that time you impulse-bought that pair of hot pink five-inch stilettos (that now sit forever in the back of your closet, mocking you), but rather a lifetime of impulsive decisions. People who have problems delaying gratification and waiting for things are more likely to be addicts, say European researchers.
2. Sensation-seeking. People who constantly need high levels of stimulation in their jobs, hobbies, and relationships and who are willing to take bigger risks to get it are more prone to addiction, reports a study published in Biological Psychiatry.
3. Adventurous. Being willing to try new things and seek out adventure isn't a bad thing at all. But people who are always on the lookout for the next new thing, person, or experience may be more likely to become addicts, according to a separate study published in Biological Psychiatry.
4. Anxious. Who isn't anxious these days? But having pervasive, chronic anxiety may make someone more likely to seek out addictive substances and to keep using them, says research published in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior.
While almost all of these studies were done on animals, it would make sense that there could be some real world applications for humans. None of these traits are inherently bad, nor does having them mean you're destined to life as a sugar (or heroin) junkie, but recognizing that you might be prone to addictive behavior can help you take steps to prevent it. At the very least, this might explain why your husband can eat three bites of cake and walk away content while you just can't leave delicious cake sitting there unappreciated?
source : Redbook (http://www.redbookmag.com/)
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