Research: Food Addiction Is a Misnomer

“Food addiction” is a misnomer because of the ambiguous connotation of a substance-related phenomenon. 

In an extensive scientific review published in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, researchers from the EU-funded NeuroFAST propose the term “eating addiction” to underscore the behavioral addiction to eating. The researchers stated that, similar to other addictive behaviors, eating can become an addiction for susceptible individuals, in situations where palatable energy-dense foods are readily available. This research could lead to better-focused treatment and prevention strategies for public health.

Addiction traditionally refers to substance-related disorders, involving drugs, nicotine or alcohol, but more recently non-substance-related conditions – gambling – are increasingly recognized as addictive disorders. It has also become popular to link the terms “food” and “addiction” to describe seemingly uncontrollable consumption of foods, particularly in the context of the increasing prevalence of obesity.

Addiction research in general has accumulated substantial evidence for the general translation of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological results obtained in rodent models to humans. In rat models of drug abuse, tolerance, dependence and withdrawal are essential paradigms of the addictive properties of a given substance.

The research studies addiction sugar, fat or salt, but concludes that the term ”food addiction” is inaccurate based on current evidence, and preferring a focus on “eating addiction”, the authors of the review encourage more research in this area for a better understanding and diagnosis of addictive eating behaviors, and for prevention and treatment by means of public health strategies.