Emerging Evidence of Addiction in Problematic Eating Behavior

Bibliographic Data

ID23735366
AuthorsAshley N Gearhardt (0000-0003-3843-5731, University of Michigan), Ashley Gearhardt, Susan Murray (0000-0003-4387-7673, Columbia University), Nicole M Avena (University of Florida)
Year2015
Pages1-14
Publication date2015-05-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeOTHER
VenueEmerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (JOURNAL)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0102
OpenAlexW1593355208
ISBN9781118900772
LanguageEN
References cited44

Obesity continues to be a pressing global health crisis with few nonsurgical means of long‐term successful treatment. In addition, in the last year, binge eating disorder (BED), which shares several behavioral characteristics with traditional substance use disorders, has been recognized in the DSM‐V as a distinct eating disorder diagnosis. In light of such trends, an emerging and controversial hypothesis is that an addictive response to certain types of foods may be contributing to eating‐related problems. If certain individuals are experiencing an addiction to highly palatable foods, the treatment and prevention of problematic eating may need to be altered in such circumstances. Further, if certain food (or ingredients in food) are identified as having an addictive potential, policy approaches employed to reduce the public health impact of other types of addictive substances (e.g., reducing advertising to minors, taxation) may be of use in the obesity epidemic. In the following piece, we will review the research linking addiction and eating, but most importantly, we will identify directions for future research in this relatively new field of study.

Addiction · Binge eating · Binge-eating disorder · Bulimia nervosa · Eating disorders · Food addiction · Obesity · Psychiatry · Public health · Clinical Psychology · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Medicine · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes