CNN.com: Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

CNN.com: Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

“We make our food very similar to cocaine now,” he says.

Coca leaves have been used since ancient times, he points out, but people learned to purify or alter cocaine to deliver it more efficiently to their brains (by injecting or smoking it, for instance). This made the drug more addictive.

According to Wang, food has evolved in a similar way. “We purify our food,” he says. “Our ancestors ate whole grains, but we’re eating white bread. American Indians ate corn; we eat corn syrup.”

This may explain why losing weight is one of the hardest things to do.  People often have the desire to lose weight, but lack the will.