Yale Hosts Historic Conference on Food and Addiction

In what is believed to be the first meeting of its kind, Yale University is convening nearly 40 experts on nutrition, obesity, and addiction tonight and Tuesday to discuss the controversial topic of food and addiction. Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will be the keynote speaker Monday evening at the private meeting in New Haven. “It is important that we study the reasons that people behave in unhealthy ways even when they are aware of potentially devastating consequences,” Volkow said. “We believe we can learn a lot about obesity by looking at what we know about the science of drug addiction. In this meeting we will be discussing the commonalities in the brain’s reward mechanisms related to compulsive eating as well as drug use for non-medical reasons.”