Researchers at Princeton  University have come to a strange conclusion: sugar can be addictive. Their study was to be presented Wednesday at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Lead researcher Bart Hoebel, a professor of psychology at the above-mentioned university, said sugar appears to prompt the same chemical changes in the brain seen in people who are addicted to cocaine or heroin.

“Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse,” he said, adding that animals drinking large amounts of sugar water when hungry experienced behavioral changes, too, along with signs of withdrawal and even long-lasting effects that resemble cravings.

For the study, rats were denied food for 12 hours a day, then were given access to food and sugar (25 percent glucose and 10 percent sucrose, similar to a soft drink) for 12 hours a day, for three to four weeks.

Once the sugar was taken away, the animals became anxious. Similar symptoms were seen in people who stopped smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs.

The discovery could have many implications in humans too although there’s no good scientific evidence yet that they can become addicted to sugar. However, there are many books and websites on sugar addiction, as well as millions of people who would classify themselves as sugar addicts, to say that the assumption is not true. “This is something that will be looked at with great interest in the near future,” Prof. Hoebel said.