Can you be addicted to food?
I’ve had many clients tell me that they are addicted to food. I absolutely believe that these clients feel addicted to food, but I’m fairly certain that they aren’t in fact addicted. We need food to survive, unlike those with alcohol or drug addiction who actually need to abstain from alcohol and drugs to survive.
The feeling of being addicted is real. But is food actually addictive? The science says... probably not.
Here’s why:
The “Food Addiction Scale” is flawed
Much of the food addiction research relies on the Yale Food Addiction Scale, which is a questionnaire that fails to take into account food restriction from dieting, an eating disorder, or low accessibility. Some have proposed that perhaps the scale is measuring the inherent challenges from food restriction that leads to binge eating rather than true addiction.
Sugar addiction studies are misleading
Animal research that supposedly demonstrates the addictive power of sugar was done on rodents who consumed sugar in an “addictive-like” way only when they were given intermittent access to it. Those rodents with unlimited access to the sugar didn’t behave in this way. Intermittent access is the same as dieting or other forms of food restriction. When people are given unpredictable access to food they behave in an “addictive” way too, but when they are given unconditional permission to eat, they don’t.
Your brain lights up for food, but also for puppies, babies & music
Some claims that food is addictive argue that the same brain regions light up with highly palatable foods just like they do for drugs. However, there are many things that can cause these reward centers in the brain to light up, such as puppies, babies, and music. Just because something triggers reward centers doesn’t mean it’s addictive. Food brings joy, and that’s normal!
In 2016, a group of researchers published “Sugar Addiction: The State Of The Science” and concluded that “there is little evidence to support [the idea of] sugar addiction in humans” and that the addiction-like behaviors occur only due to intermittent access to sweet, highly palatable foods, not the neurochemical effects of sugar (Westwater, Fletcher, and Ziauddeen 2016).
The Bottom Line:
Restriction, not food itself, triggers binge-like behaviors. Research supports Intuitive Eating and the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating that aim to remove restriction and ultimately help you make peace and heal your relationship with food.
What questions do you have about this or other topics? Schedule a complimentary call using the button below to see how working with a registered dietitian may benefit you.
Not quite ready to talk? Be sure to click here to receive our monthly newsletter designed to provide you with useful nutrition tips and strategies to promote your overall health and well-being.