Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals
The global obesity epidemic can no longer be explained by personal choice or caloric excess alone. Mounting evidence points to underlying neurobehavioral dysfunction, exacerbated by environments engineered to promote overconsumption. Modern obesity is driven by five interrelated neurobehavioral fact...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society for the Study of Obesity
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome |
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| Online Access: | http://www.jomes.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.7570/jomes25053 |
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| author | Taesung Lee Seeun Park Seokhyun Lee Areum Hwangbo HanGyeol Bae Yumin Lee Hyung Jin Choi |
| author_facet | Taesung Lee Seeun Park Seokhyun Lee Areum Hwangbo HanGyeol Bae Yumin Lee Hyung Jin Choi |
| author_sort | Taesung Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global obesity epidemic can no longer be explained by personal choice or caloric excess alone. Mounting evidence points to underlying neurobehavioral dysfunction, exacerbated by environments engineered to promote overconsumption. Modern obesity is driven by five interrelated neurobehavioral factors: cue-evoked eating, habitual-context eating, food addiction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. These maladaptive eating patterns arise from a decoupling of homeostatic and hedonic brain circuits in an obesogenic environment. This review synthesizes evidence from neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, and animal studies to illustrate how each factor contributes to obesity risk and relapse after weight loss. We further discuss emerging interventions —including digital therapeutics (DTx) and electroceuticals—that target these drivers with increasing precision. DTx platforms deliver scalable, phenotype-informed interventions through cognitive-behavioral modules, real-time monitoring, and artificial intelligence-driven coaching. Electroceutical strategies, including non-invasive brain stimulation and vagus nerve modulation, show promise in reshaping dysfunctional circuits. Finally, we propose a neurobehavioral subtyping model to guide personalized obesity treatment, integrating brain-based phenotyping with multimodal interventions. This framework may offer a path toward sustained and mechanism-driven obesity care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13f3d1c8a9034c818f6158d91ffa9a9d |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2508-6235 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society for the Study of Obesity |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome |
| spelling | doaj-art-13f3d1c8a9034c818f6158d91ffa9a9d2025-07-30T03:17:03ZengKorean Society for the Study of ObesityJournal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome2508-62352025-07-0134319621210.7570/jomes25053jomes25053Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and ElectroceuticalsTaesung Lee0Seeun Park1Seokhyun Lee2Areum Hwangbo3HanGyeol Bae4Yumin Lee5Hyung Jin Choi6Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaThe global obesity epidemic can no longer be explained by personal choice or caloric excess alone. Mounting evidence points to underlying neurobehavioral dysfunction, exacerbated by environments engineered to promote overconsumption. Modern obesity is driven by five interrelated neurobehavioral factors: cue-evoked eating, habitual-context eating, food addiction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. These maladaptive eating patterns arise from a decoupling of homeostatic and hedonic brain circuits in an obesogenic environment. This review synthesizes evidence from neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, and animal studies to illustrate how each factor contributes to obesity risk and relapse after weight loss. We further discuss emerging interventions —including digital therapeutics (DTx) and electroceuticals—that target these drivers with increasing precision. DTx platforms deliver scalable, phenotype-informed interventions through cognitive-behavioral modules, real-time monitoring, and artificial intelligence-driven coaching. Electroceutical strategies, including non-invasive brain stimulation and vagus nerve modulation, show promise in reshaping dysfunctional circuits. Finally, we propose a neurobehavioral subtyping model to guide personalized obesity treatment, integrating brain-based phenotyping with multimodal interventions. This framework may offer a path toward sustained and mechanism-driven obesity care.http://www.jomes.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.7570/jomes25053obesityfeeding behavioremotionsappetitedigital healthelectric stimulation therapyprecision medicine |
| spellingShingle | Taesung Lee Seeun Park Seokhyun Lee Areum Hwangbo HanGyeol Bae Yumin Lee Hyung Jin Choi Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome obesity feeding behavior emotions appetite digital health electric stimulation therapy precision medicine |
| title | Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals |
| title_full | Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals |
| title_fullStr | Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals |
| title_short | Hijacked Brain in Modern Obesity: Cue, Habit, Addiction, Emotion, and Restraint as Targets for Personalized Digital Therapy and Electroceuticals |
| title_sort | hijacked brain in modern obesity cue habit addiction emotion and restraint as targets for personalized digital therapy and electroceuticals |
| topic | obesity feeding behavior emotions appetite digital health electric stimulation therapy precision medicine |
| url | http://www.jomes.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.7570/jomes25053 |
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