Food addiction, eating addiction and eating disorders

Abstract

The concept of food addiction is currently a highly debated subject within both the general public and the scientific communities. The term food addiction suggests that individuals may experience addictive-like responses to food, similar to those seen with classic substances of abuse. An increasing number of studies have established the prevalence and correlates of food addiction. Moreover, food addiction may be associated with obesity and disordered eating. Thus, intervening on food addiction may be helpful in the prevention and therapy of obesity and eating disorders. However, controversy exists about if this phenomenon is best defined through paradigms reflective of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) substance-related disorders (e.g. food addiction) or non-substance-related disorders (e.g. eating addiction) criteria. This review paper will give a brief summarisation of the current state of research on food addiction, a more precise definition of its classification, its differentiation from eating addiction and an overview on potential overlaps with eating disorders. Based on this review, there is evidence that food addiction may represent a distinct phenomenon from established eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder. Future studies are needed to further examine and establish orthogonal diagnostic criteria specific to food addiction. Such criteria must differentiate the patterns of eating and symptoms that may be similar to those of eating disorders to further characterise food addiction and develop therapy options. To date, it is too premature to draw conclusions about the clinical significance of the concept of food addiction.

Impact of Strategies for Preventing Obesity and Risk Factors for Eating Disorders among Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…Research suggests that attitudes towards individuals with obesity may be reduced through the provision of non-modifiable risk factors for these specific concerns [ 78 ]. Considering this, studies that focused on causes and risk factors for obesity and eating disorders identified in this review, as well as other corroborating reviews [ 73 , 79 , 80 ], showed that biological and genetic factors played a minor role in the etiology of these shared risk factors when compared with social–cultural factors. This was confirmed in studies that include both public and health professionals [ 73 ].…”

Meeting of Minds around Food Addiction: Insights from Addiction Medicine, Nutrition, Psychology, and Neurosciences

“…These criteria encompass the loss of control over consumption, increased motivation to consume, and persistent consumption despite negative consequences, as well as tolerance or adverse effects of acute withdrawal. In the last twenty years, there has been a growing interest in the possibility that in some patients, food, and especially highly palatable food, could produce behavioral symptoms that parallel those of addiction and could activate the same neural reward circuits as drugs of abuse [17]. However, this concept has been challenged, either on the addictive nature of some eating disorders (ED) [18,19] or by debating as to whether FA is akin to a behavioral addiction versus a SUD [20].…”

Inpatients experiences about the impact of traumatic stress on eating behaviors: an exploratory focus group study

“…In the participants’ discussion about food, alcohol and drugs, they compared food, sugar, and their eating behavior to drugs and alcohol addiction. The concept of food addiction has been critically discussed in the literature [ 30 ], but the engagement of this topic among the participants, might signal the importance of a new approach and understanding of binge-eating and bulimic behavior [ 26 , 30 ]. Additionally, the participants’ expressions and descriptions of the strong urge and cravings toward ultra-processed food and snacks also illuminate an urge that is stronger than the willpower to avoid such ultra-processed food and snacks.…”

“…In recent years the differentiation between, and potential overlap with, food addiction and EDs such as BN and BED have been discussed in the literature [ 26 ]. Result from a cross-sectional study, consisting of 49,408 female nurses, found that higher levels of PTSD-symptoms were associated with increased levels of food addiction [ 27 ], and a separate study found that childhood trauma was associated with both food addiction and binge eating [ 28 ].…”