A recent viewpoint article published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (ANZJP) has raised the question of whether food addiction “is a ‘true’ and valid addiction, through the lens of the recently released DSM-5,” the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Nagesh Pai, et al., “Is food addiction a valid phenomenon through the lens of the DSM-5?,” ANZJP, November 2013. In particular, the article notes that DSM-5 for the first time includes “non-substance related, behavioral or process addictions” such as Gambling Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder, thus setting the foundation “for the potential future inclusion of food addiction.” “Readers of the DSM-5 that are familiar with the food addiction literature, may be left wondering why food addiction was excluded based upon the rationale for the inclusion of Gambling Disorder,” write the article’s authors. “Specifically, that gambling activates the same…
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A recent article detailing the history of food addiction studies has claimed that foods dense in fat and sugar can override our appetite suppressing hormones, activate our neurological reward systems and prompt us to continue eating past the point of satiety. Paul Kenny, “Is obesity an addiction?,” Scientific American, September 2013. According to author Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist with The Scripps Research Institute, obesity in some cases may be caused “by hedonic overeating that hijacks the brain’s reward networks,” thus creating “a feedback loop in the brain’s reward centers—the more you consume, the more you crave, and the harder it is for you to satisfy that craving.” Asking whether this cycle of hedonistic overeating constitutes an addiction, Kenny not only describes several studies that seem to highlight the similarities between drug addiction and obesity, but also explains important differences between the two conditions. In particular, he notes that “research overall indicates…
A recent study examining the effects of low- and high-carbohydrate foods on brain activity has purportedly concluded that meals with a high glycemic index (GI) “decreased plasma glucose, increased hunger, and selectively stimulated brain regions associated with reward and craving in the last postprandial period, which is a time with special significance to eating behavior at the next meal.” Belinda Lennerz, et al., “Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2013. Led by New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Director David Ludwig, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the brain activity of 12 overweight or obese men during the four-hour period following consumption of either a low-GI or high-GI milkshake. The results evidently showed that “cerebral blood flow was greater [four hours] after the high- than low-GI meal in the right nucleus accumbens,” a…
During a recent interview with Atlantic journalist Joe Fassler, author Michael Moss discussed “the language of junk-food addiction” and the role of salt, sugar, fat, and texture in snack foods allegedly engineered to promote “mindless eating—where were [sic] not really paying attention to what we’re putting in our mouths.” According to Moss, who spoke with Fassler about why consumers find processed foods like potato chips so appealing, the food industry has invested “a trillion dollars of money” in creating and marketing products that seek “to override the natural checks that keep us from overeating.” “And I’ve found that the language they use to describe their work and their products and their [sic] striving not just to make us like their products but to make us want more and more of them is absolutely revealing,” opines Moss. “When they talk about the allure of food, they hate the word addiction: but…
The Society of Biological Psychiatry has dedicated the May 1, 2013, edition of its flagship journal, Biological Psychiatry, to the debate over whether “food is, or can be addictive.” According to its introduction, the special issue explores (i) whether food and drugs of abuse share common neurobiological mechanisms; (ii) whether the addiction model can “reasonably” be adopted for binge eating; (iii) the possibility of shared vulnerabilities, such as stress, that can affect “the likelihood of a relapse for drug addiction and obesity”; and (iv) the key differences between food and drug addiction models. To this end, it includes articles that address the theories, concepts and evidence behind food addiction models; addiction risk factors and susceptibility; neural adaptations and reward circuits; and the prevalence of binge eating disorder, among other topics. Additional details about commentary authored by Ashley Gearhardt and Kelly Brownell for this special edition appear in Issue 450 of…
In a recently published article, psychology and law professors discuss research tending to show that the low-cost, highly refined, widely available sugars consumed by Americans may fit the developing definition of an addictive substance and consider whether such a finding would justify a range of legal and regulatory responses. Ashley Gearhardt, et al., “If Sugar Is Addictive … What Does It Mean for the Law?,” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Spring 2013. Noting that the understanding of addiction and public perceptions shifted when nicotine was declared an addictive substance despite its lack of mind-altering properties and relatively weak withdrawal symptoms, the authors report that the new addiction criteria include an inability to successfully cut down or abstain from a substance, “continued use despite negative consequences,” and diminished control over consumption. The authors compare the concentration of the coca leaf, with minimal addictive potential, into crack cocaine, which “‘hijacks’ the reward…
A recent article published in Biological Psychiatry reviews the research examining the neurological basis for food addiction and its relation to obesity. Nora Volkow, et al., “The Addictive Dimensionality of Obesity,” Biological Psychiatry, February 2013. Co-authored by National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow, the article proposes that drug and food addiction “share neurobiological processes that, when disrupted, can result in compulsive consumption, while also involving unique neurobiological processes.” In particular, the authors argue not that obesity is the result of food addiction, “but rather that food reward plays a critical role in overeating and obesity, referring to it as the dimensional component of obesity.” To this end, the article describes how drug and food addiction allegedly share genetic, molecular, neurobiological, and behavioral mechanisms that, when coupled with environmental triggers, have “the potential to facilitate or exacerbate the establishment of uncontrolled behaviors.” The authors also speculate that exposure to obesogenic…
A recent study examining the public stigma around food addiction has concluded that the “food addict” label “was perceived similarly to obesity, but more favorably than other addictions.” Jenny DePierre, et al., “A New Stigmatized Identity? Comparisons of a ‘Food Addict’ Label with Other Stigmatized Health Conditions,” Basic and Applied Social Psychology, February 2013. To gauge public perceptions of food addiction, researchers at Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity first asked 659 adults about their responses to individuals “with various health conditions and addictions, including obesity, food addiction, physical disability, mental illness, cocaine addiction, and smoking.” A second survey of 570 adults asked them to view only one of three addictions—smoking, alcohol or food—“to specifically compare public perceptions of individuals described as being addicted to food to those with smoking and alcohol addictions.” While the results of the first online survey allegedly showed that “a food addict…
Focusing on recent research into food addiction, a review article published in the Journal of Adolescent Health discusses “the need for multilevel interventions that go beyond simple behavioral approaches” in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) with increasing adolescent obesity rates. Albert Lee and Susannah Gibbs, “Neurobiology of Food Addiction and Adolescent Obesity Prevention in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” Journal of Adolescent Health, January 2013. The article argues that “advances in the understanding of neurobiology may provide important guidance in shaping how obesity is addressed in LMICs,” where changes in global food production have prompted many consumers to shift “from consuming meals prepared at home to consuming mass-produced processed foods that are high in sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients.” Citing numerous studies that have investigated the neurobiology of food addiction and its alleged similarities to substance abuse, the authors ultimately credit the current body of literature with suggesting that “lifestyle- or willpower-based models…
In a University of Oxford Press (UOP) blog post titled “From cigarettes to obesity, public health at risk,” University of Florida Psychiatry Professor Mark Gold advances his food addiction hypothesis and suggests, “If overeating is due to food acquiring drug-like or tobacco-like brain reinforcement properties, then the current globesity and overeating-related health crisis might have lessons to learn from tobacco.” Gold recently co-edited a book of essays, Food and Addiction, and claims that taxes on soft drinks, like taxes on cigarettes, could reduce consumption. According to Gold, animal tests show “that sucrose and fructose corn syrup are self-administered as if they were drugs and that an opiate-like abstinence syndrome could be produced by detoxification or antagonist administration.” He claims that new treatments based on the addiction hypothesis should address food preferences “and not just appetite.” He concludes, “New approaches, evidence-based approaches, like those that have been used successfully to develop…
