PLoS Biology November 25, 2025

In defense of pleasure: We need to rethink food reward and obesity

by Justin J. Sung, Dana M. Small Is overeating driven by hedonism? We argue that the pleasure of eating food is not a driver of the obesity epidemic, but rather the regular consumption of an unhealthy diet blunts sensitivity to interoceptive signals that drive food reward. Is overeating driven by hedonism? This Perspective argues that the pleasure of eating food is not a driver of the obesity epidemic, but rather the regular consumption of an unhealthy diet blunts sensitivity to interoceptive