A study has revealed that junk food and alcohol go hand in hand.
According to researchers Obesity and
The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine studied
The first group followed a high-fat diet and had limited access to an alcoholic drink, while the second group followed a normal diet and the same limited access to alcohol.
Finally, the third ‘binge’ group had limited access to a high-fat diet, and limited access to alcohol.
After eight weeks, the results revealed that the binge diet group showed a weight-gain and loss cycle associated with binge eating.
Those mice also drank more alcohol than water during their access period, showing a clear preference for booze.
Meanwhile, the other groups both drank less alcohol than the binge diet group.
These results suggest that limiting access to junk food promotes binge-like eating patterns, which in turn activates the brain to binge on alcohol.
While the study was carried out in mice, the researchers believe the findings could have important implications for humans.
They added: “Given the increasing rates of binge drinking and overall obesity rates in the U.S. in recent years, we think this new mouse model will be of critical importance in the near future.”