# Why are Oreos so addictive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385 "2010-08-06T11:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/21 "2010-08-06T17:02:10Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > Count me in as another that doesn’t get oreos. I mean the chocolate flavor is so weak that as a kid I didn’t realize they were supposed to be chocolate. (And anyway they’re a knock off of hydrox.) Personally if I’m going to eat a packaged cookie it’s going to be a Peggy Lawton chocolate chip. (Although I’d rather have a Ho-Ho or a Twinkie if we’re talking sweet snack food.) On the other hand, I love Oreos, and if presented with an open package have a hard time stopping myself from eating them. For me, they have exactly the right amount of chocolate flavor: Intense, but not overpowering. Regular dark chocolate is too bitter for me to have more than a tiny piece. ---
**Author:** ![SmithCommaJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@SmithCommaJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmithCommaJohn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/22 "2010-08-06T17:15:40Z")
I enjoy Oreos, but I haven’t had one in as long as I can remember. I don’t think they’re particularly addictive. My major weakness, however, is the It’s-It: ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies, covered in chocolate. I think it’s mostly a California thing, though. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/23 "2010-08-06T17:35:16Z")
Regular Oreos suck. Double-Stuf Oreos … now that’s the good stuf. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/24 "2010-08-06T17:35:46Z")
They aren’t. I hate them. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/25 "2010-08-06T17:53:47Z")
Neither is pot, but together, they are mighty attractive and may even explain the OP. I vote for less indiscriminate use of the word, addictive, by the way. This is the fight against ignorance, after all. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/26 "2010-08-06T18:11:12Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Count me as another who doesn’t get the attraction of Oreos. I don’t care for ice cream sandwiches either. (Klondike bars, on the other hand, are like crack to me.) I could have written this post word for word. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/27 "2010-08-06T18:36:24Z")
As a fun exercise, try throwing an Oreo into a fire sometime (only with adult supervision!) The things burn like a candle. Empty calories indeed. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/28 "2010-08-06T18:40:17Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Count me as another who doesn’t get the attraction of Oreos. I don’t care for ice cream sandwiches either. (Klondike bars, on the other hand, are like crack to me.) So it would be fair to say that when you’re asked “What would you do for a Klondike bar?”, your answer would be “Kill a hooker and shoot a man in the back?” ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/29 "2010-08-06T18:42:17Z")
Oreos are my all-time favorite cookie. It’s not the chocolatey-ness (if you can call it that), it’s not the filling; it’s more than the sum of its parts. It’s the user-friendliness of them, the cookie that offers so many ways to eat it, the combined flavor, the perfection of its proportions, the dunkability, the tastiness right out of the package, the unchanged-ness of the Oreo formula. It’s the perfect Saturday afternoon, walking-by-the-pantry-reach-in-for-a-snack snack. I can’t eat just one, never could. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/30 "2010-08-06T18:44:42Z")
Oh oreos…dunk 'em in milk until they’re soggy. They’re HEAVEN. (I don’t eat them all the time, since it gets expensive, but they’re a lovely treat) I’m more likely to eat Cookies ‘n’ Cream ice cream. You know they make Oreo Cereal now? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/31 "2010-08-06T19:35:29Z")
> [@SmithCommaJohn](#): > > I enjoy Oreos, but I haven’t had one in as long as I can remember. I don’t think they’re particularly addictive. > > My major weakness, however, is the It’s-It: ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies, covered in chocolate. I think it’s mostly a California thing, though. We had those when I was a kid - they were known as a Snack-and-a-Half then. They were indeed tasty. I’m not a huge Oreo fan, either. I’d pretty much always prefer Fudgee-os to Oreos. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/32 "2010-08-07T04:52:46Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > gee, I ain’t so sure 'bout them Oreos…but do know that they are less addictive than Pringles > > I think it’s due to all those alien anal probes… Yeah, Oreos aren’t all that. But I used to eat enormous quantities of Pringles. And that white bread where you can compress an entire loaf to the size of a fist. And Pepsi. My dental problems date to that era. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/33 "2010-08-07T05:35:57Z")
Oreo schmoreo. Got nuthin’ on Girl Scout Samoas or Fig Newtons. Now those are addicting. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/34 "2010-08-07T05:45:43Z")
Answer to the OP: Chocolate and sugar. And until now, I didn’t realize my inability to eat chocolate without getting the shakes would mean I couldn’t have my traditional oreo cake on my birthday. :(:(☹ ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/35 "2010-08-07T06:06:52Z")
Hydrox are the original. Oreos are mere imitators, just like the Big Mac is a faux Big Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/36 "2010-08-07T06:19:49Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > “Empty” calories? There are only three sources of calories – protein, fat, and carbohydrates (sugars). Sugars aren’t any more “empty” than proteins or fats. You need all three plus vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. Eating any one of these things in exclusion of all others will lead to malnutrition. You’re not wrong, but you’re also forgetting about things like eating certain hard foods like celery naturally strengthen teeth. Eating foods with fiber is extremely important in Western nations where only around 5% of people consume adequate amounts of fiber. Yes I realize fiber doesn’t add calories, but if you’re eating foods without it, you won’t be hungry enough to eat the fiber. And I do realize you can take fiber supplements, which, if you don’t get enough fiber, you should be doing. As I stated, what you said, IS correct, but people don’t analyze what they eat. Years and years ago, I loved the vanilla oreos with chocolate inside, but now I’m sick of them. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/37 "2010-08-07T07:04:09Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Neither is pot, but together, they are mighty attractive and may even explain the OP. I vote for less indiscriminate use of the word, addictive, by the way. This is the fight against ignorance, after all. No, sorry. Addictive is _exactly_ the right word. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/38 "2010-08-07T12:59:50Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > > > Read David Kessler’s “The End of Overeating” it ain’t no [accident](http://elpisandjustice.com/2009/08/25/david-kesslers-the-end-of-overeating-and-why-our-brains-love-junk-food/). > > Good article. Junk food companies formulate the food to exploit our natural adaptation to pursue high-calorie food sources, which might have been important 50,000 years ago but isn’t as necessary in civilized, high-tech society. Grandma does the same thing with her cookies. Its called making what people want, not exploiting. > [@shiftless](#): > > As a fun exercise, try throwing an Oreo into a fire sometime (only with adult supervision!) The things burn like a candle. Empty calories indeed. Pretty much any food that is mostly desiccated(as Oreos and many other snack foods are) will burn quite hot. There is a lot of energy packed away in sugars and fats. Which is what makes it a good food source. [Bacon lance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dskxN10N0&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/39 "2010-08-07T15:58:11Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I buy them just so I can enjoy their resealable package, possibly the best design I can think of in a resealable product. Most of that type just suck. Hey, uh, clem, since yer jes sittin thar, rippin thet bag open, an then sealin it up agin… uh, d’ya think ah could have some uh them oreos? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385/40 "2010-08-07T16:15:35Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I buy them just so I can enjoy their resealable package, possibly the best design I can think of in a resealable product. Most of that type just suck. That implies you have leftovers that need to be stored. Why do you hate America? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-oreos-so-addictive/549385.md?page=3)