People with impulsive personalities have a higher tendency to become addicted to addictive substances such as alcohol, nicotine or drugs. Researchers in the United States have found that the same applies to food addiction, which in turn is associated with obesity. The study was published in the journal Appetite. The research team analyzed impulsivity levels, BMI and food addiction levels in 233 subjects. The study showed that more impulsive people had a stronger tendency to develop food addiction than less impulsive people. Impulsivity is not directly related to obesity; however, impulsive behavior can lead to food addiction. Therefore, impulsivity was one of the drivers of obesity in the study subjects, a result that was expected. “Modern neuroscience has helped us understand how co-adaptive regions of the brain for drugs such as narcotics, as well as alcohol, have evolved to release dopamine and create feelings of happiness or satisfaction,” said study leader James MacKillop. “We now recognize that certain types of food can also hijack these brain circuits and lay the groundwork for the formation of compulsive eating habits, a process similar to the formation of drug addiction.”