Oh, please

The Fox News teaser (yes, Jeopardy! is on Fox here) said "the evidence that Oreos are just as addictive as cocaine".

Oh, please, I said. Here's what the study showed - for a small number of rats: (1) rats like Oreos better than rice cakes and (2) rats like sugar and fat. A lot.

Note: at no point were the rats offered a choice between Oreos and cocaine.

Money quote:

When rats were given Oreos, a protein called c-Fos was expressed strongly in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is well known to be active in pleasure and addiction.

 Wow. Eating Oreos is pleasurable. Do tell.

This is stupid science reporting at its best.

(disclosure: the rats ate the creamy filling and not the cookie. I, on the other hand, do the opposite - and never have, never will buy "Double Stuff"...)

(info on the study here)