Article Review: Food Can Be Literally Addictive, New Evidence Suggests
There is heavy debate on whether someone can truly be addicted to food or not. However, an article in Scientific American compiles the most recent research and brings up strong evidence that food is actually addictive and warns of the consequences of continuing to ignore the classification of food as addictive.
Critics of research stating food is addictive often claim that you can't get addicted to something that is essential to life. However the foods that research is finding to be addictive is not in its natural state. Addictive foods are highly processed. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist at the University of Michigan, puts it well,
"It's something that's designed by food scientists in a laboratory to look a certain way, feel a certain way in your mouth, smell a certain way when you open the package. People aren't losing control over beans."
People are not getting addicted to fruits and vegetables, they are having compulsive behaviors around foods that are designed by experts to trigger and rewire the brain's reward system. The unnaturally large "dose" of carbs and fats mixed together is delivered to the body too rapidly and this results in changes to the brain's reward system that resembles changes made by cocaine or nicotine.
Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, a neuroscientist, states that food addiction is like a close cousin to binge eating disorder. Both conditions cause people to have a lack of control in how they consume food, however in the case of food addiction they also have cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and continue the behavior despite negative consequences. Research has found that people do experience withdrawal symptoms from foods such as sugar sweetened beverages. The withdrawal symptoms included headaches, irritability, social withdrawal, decreased motivation and ability to concentrate.
A strong comparison was drawn between cigarettes and addictive foods. Nicotine was originally not viewed as a clear-cut addictive substance, it was missing the significant mind-altering effects and researchers don't know the dosage that it becomes addictive. The tobacco industry also sponsored research that argued against it being addictive, which is what the sugar industry is currently doing. Ultraprocessed foods have been found to raise mortality risk by 25%, it would be better to misclassify them than to wait until it is too late and a bigger problem, like was done with cigarettes.
Written by Meghan Hawley, RD
Resources:
