"Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain," Grucza said. Because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of unhealthy foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction.
Obesity in the United States has doubled in recent decades, from 15 percent of the population in the late 1970s to 33 percent in 2004, the researchers said. Obese people – those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more – have an elevated risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.
In 2001 and 2002, women with a family history of alcoholism were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism, the study showed. The researchers found a similar link between the conditions in men, but the effect was not as strong, they said.
The researchers analyzed data from two large alcoholism surveys from the last two decades: The National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey was conducted in 1991 and 1992;The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was conducted in 2001 and 2002. Almost 80,000 people took part in the two surveys.
The researchers examined other variables — such as smoking, alcohol intake, age and education levels — but none seemed to explain the association between alcoholism risk and obesity.
Grucza said the results suggest there should be more discussions between alcohol and addiction researchers and those who study obesity. He says there may be some people for whom treating one of those disorders also might aid the other.
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