Is ice cream really 'addictive like drugs'?  Behind the
Headlines  Monday March 5 2012  Ice cream is 'addictive like
cocaine' claim newspapers  “Ice cream 'could be as addictive as
cocaine',” reported the Daily Mail. In a bid to scoop its
rivals, the newspaper claimed that new research had whipped up
“concerns that the dessert could be genuinely addictive”.  It’s
not clear who exactly had these chilling “concerns” over the
possible addictive qualities of the frozen snack, but the study
in question looked at measures of brain activity in 151
teenagers while they drank an ice cream milkshake. During the
scans, teenagers who had frequently eaten ice cream over the
past two weeks showed less activity in the “reward areas” of the
brain that give pleasurable sensations. This reduced reward
sensation was reported to be similar to what is seen in drug
addiction as users become desensitised to drugs.
Unsurprisingly, the study did not directly compare brain
responses to or cravings for ice cream with those for illegal