Is the myth of food addiction real? What does science say? Addiction can be focused on substances (such as alcohol or cannabis) or on behaviors (such as gambling). Lack of control over consumption is a clear symptom. Is it true that food can behave in the same way?
The concept of food addiction poses a number of difficulties. One of them is that eating is physiological. On the other hand, it is not possible (as in the case of drugs) for the goal of treatment to be to stop eating. We need to eat to survive. Food addiction is confused with other problems such as obesity, binge eating disorder or bulimia. Clinically, separating these disorders is difficult.
Sugar consumption
How to diagnose it, if necessary? There are no specific diagnostic criteria for this behavior. The main tool for this is a psychometric test developed a few years ago by Yale University, called YFAS. It is the most widely used tool to detect and investigate food addiction.
There are overweight people who are unable to control the amount of food they eat. This is very similar to what happens to drug addicts. Using neuroimaging techniques, changes in the brain have been observed in food addiction. There are alterations in brain areas that are also modified in drug addiction.
Sugar addiction is often referred to as a subtype of food addiction. It consists of the excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods with a high sugar content, which is addictive due to its reinforcing properties. It is not clear whether it can function as a drug of abuse at the brain level, at least in humans.
Prevention
The myth of food addiction has many dark spots that need to be clarified through research. Preference for some foods over others is something that all human beings share. Generally speaking, it is something learned.
What is important to know is why the consumption of certain foods can become very problematic for certain people. Only in this way can we prevent these problems and help those who suffer from them.
