With the onset of a new year comes celebration, a new start and for some, it's the time to start new resolutions. Losing weight hit No. 1 on the top 10 New Year's resolutions for 2015 list, according to Statistic Brain Institute.
Dieting and health are two main concerns most people have, and with the new year they try to get on track, but there are some foods that make it seem impossible to succeed.
Onikia Brown, assistant professor and extensive specialist, said people who diet this time of year are looking for a fresh start.
"They're looking to change, looking to improve themselves," Brown said. "So it's not always a diet to lose weight, but it's just a better diet to be healthier."
In 2015, the University of Michigan conducted two studies revealing the most addictive foods.
Results from both studies varied, but pizza, chocolate, cookies, and ice cream were in the top five of each study.
The study concluded highly processed foods were most associated with addictive eating behavior.
Michael Greene, assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics, said salt, sugar and fat are three key ingredients in processed foods.
"There's an abundance of them [processed foods]," Greene said. "You go to the grocery store, you go anywhere, and they're just all over the place. So we're bombarded by them."
Food companies can change the amount of sugar, salt and fat in processed foods to get the right balance, according to Greene.
Sugar and fat are the driving ingredients of the three, and by reducing either one, more salt is added, Greene said.
Greene said most addictive foods will have high fructose corn syrup or another simple sugar such as glucose and fat.
Pizza hits all three addictive ingredients, according to Greene. He said pizza is made to be more salty in the U.S., with the cheese having the fat and the sauce containing the sugar.
When eating pizza, Greene said he treats it like dessert.
"So I would never have like a piece of cake or something after having pizza, because I've already had my dessert — it was for dinner," Greene said.
Greene said companies that make fat-free items are putting more salt and fat in the product to overcompensate for the reduced fat.
"That's how they [food companies] get away with it," Greene said. "And I think that's why people have a hard time stopping when they eat those types of foods because the brain really does like it."
Consuming these addictive foods activates opioid receptors in our brain, according to Greene. These receptors are also triggered when abusing drugs such as heroine.
Greene said to combat these addictive foods, people should strive to be healthy by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, balancing nutrition such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals and moderating the types and amounts of food consumed.
Moderation is where people tend to fail the most, according to Greene.
Brown said meal planning is important when trying to avoid addictive foods and maintain a healthy diet.
Getting enough sleep, exercising and choosing a diet low in fat and sugars and high in fiber can contribute to a healthier lifestyle, according to Brown.
"If every meal every day is a high fat, high sugar, low fiber food then you should probably rethink your diet and your meals," Brown said.
Dorothy Dickmann, senior in accounting, said people don't normally maintain their New Year's resolutions, especially when losing weight.
"The first couple of weeks in the rec center, like right after Christmas break everybody's there, and a few weeks after that, everybody's gone," Dickmann said.
Dickmann said people don't necessarily have to make a healthier lifestyle change at the new year, but instead re-asses their eating habits during the year.
Although Dickmann said she personally doesn't have cravings for addictive foods, she said she understands how one can be addicted to them.
"Say you have a package of Oreos, and you just end up eating a whole side of it without even thinking about it," Dickmann said.
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