Fletcher, P.C., Kenny, P.J. Food Addiction: a valid concept?. Neuropsychopharmacol 43, 2506–2513 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0203-9 The authors argue the merits of opposing positions on the concept of Food Addiction. fletcher .pdf
Food addiction: a valid concept?
Fletcher, P. C., & Kenny, P. J. (2018). Food addiction: a valid concept? Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(13), 2506-2513. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0203-9 From the perspective article’s text: “Macronutrients in palatable high-calorie food items can pack a supraphysiological punch to brain motivation circuits.”
Food addiction and impaired executive functions in women with obesity
Steward, T., Mestre-Bach, G., Vintró-Alcaraz, C., Lozano-Madrid, M., Agüera, Z., Fernández-Formoso, J. A., Granero, R., Jiménez-Murcia, S., Vilarrasa, N., García-Ruiz-de-Gordejuela, A., Veciana de Las Heras, M., Custal, N., Virgili, N., López-Urdiales, R., Gearhardt, A. N., Menchón, J. M., Soriano-Mas, C., & Fernández-Aranda, F. (2018). Food addiction and impaired executive functions in women with obesity. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 574-584. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2636 From the research article’s abstract: “Background: Individuals with obesity (OB) often report suffering from addiction-like symptoms. As in addictions, deficits in executive function domains, such as decision-making and sustained attention, are found in OB. No study to date has examined the associations between food addiction, OB, and neuropsychological performance. Method: Thirty-three adult women with OB and 36 healthy weight controls completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0, a validated instrument used to assess food-related addictive behaviours. Additionally, participants completed computerized versions of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Conners’ Continuous Performance Test, second edition (CPT-II) to examine decision-making and attentional control, respectively.
State and trait influences on attentional bias to food-cues: The role of hunger, expectancy, and self-perceived food addiction
Ruddock, H. K., Field, M., Jones, A., & Hardman, C. A. (2018). State and trait influences on attentional bias to food-cues: The role of hunger, expectancy, and self-perceived food addiction. Appetite, 131, 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.08.038 From the research article’s abstract: “Food-related attentional bias (AB) varies both between individuals (i.e. trait differences) and within individuals (i.e. state differences), as a function of a food’s momentary incentive value. People with self-perceived food addiction (SPFA) find food particularly rewarding and may therefore demonstrate increased AB to food-related cues, relative to those who do not perceive themselves as food addicts. However, these trait differences may interact with state factors, such as hunger and the perceived availability of food, to differentially affect AB to food-cues. In the current study, female participants (N = 120) completed an eye-tracking task to assess AB to chocolate pictures in which the expectancy of receiving chocolate was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis (0%, 50%, 100%). Participants were randomly allocated such that half completed the task when hungry (hungry condition), and half completed the task following a lunch meal (satiated condition).
Overeaters Anonymous: A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery
Rodríguez-Martín, B. C., & Gallego-Arjiz, B. (2018). Overeaters Anonymous: A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01491 From the research article’s abstract: “The notion that overeating can be an addictive behavior has been accepted by many individuals who suffer from this problem. Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a 12-step mutual help group founded in 1960 to support individuals who perceive themselves as food addicts (Suler and Barthelomew, 1986). However, the concept of food addiction is highly controversial (Meule, 2015). Furthermore, there is no consensus regarding whether addictive-like eating should be conceptualized as a substance-related (Schulte et al., 2015) or a behavioral addiction (Hebebrand et al., 2014). Because of this, the core concept of this article is perceived food addiction (PFA) rather than an objective and clinically accepted definition of food addiction. OA members share an abnormal relationship with food. They also share numerous failed attempts to overcome this problem (Russell-Mayhew et al., 2010).
Overeaters Anonymous A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery
Rodriguez-Martin, B. C., & Gallego-Arjiz, B. (2018). Overeaters Anonymous: A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1491. htt s: doi.or 10.3389 f s .2018.01491 Opinion Overeaters_Anonymous .pdf
Food addiction and other addictive behaviours in bariatric surgery candidates
Müller, A., Leukefeld, C., Hase, C., Gruner-Labitzke, K., Mall, J. W., Köhler, H., & de Zwaan, M. (2018). Food addiction and other addictive behaviours in bariatric surgery candidates. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 585–596. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2629 From the research article’s abstract: “The present study investigated the association between food addiction (FA) and other addictive behaviours in 216 bariatric surgery candidates (91.7% class 3 obesity; 80.1% women; age Mdn = 44.00 years, range 18–73). Assessment included the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) and standardized self-report questionnaires to measure symptoms of disorders related to substance use (alcohol and nicotine) and behavioural addictions (gambling, Internet-use, buying, hypersexual disorders, and exercise dependence). Bivariate correlations indicated a moderate relationship of YFAS 2.0 FA symptoms with buying disorder symptoms and a weak association with Internet-use disorder symptoms. Fifty-nine patients (27.3%) met the YFAS 2.0 threshold for FA, 1.9% for alcohol use disorder, 6.0% for nicotine use disorder, 17.3% for buying disorder, 2.3% for Internet-use disorder, and 1.4% for hypersexual disorder.
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of closed-loop infraslow brain training in food addiction
Leong, S. L., Vanneste, S., Lim, J., Smith, M., Manning, P., & De Ridder, D. (2018). A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of closed-loop infraslow brain training in food addiction. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 11659. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30181-7 From the research article’s abstract: “The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is involved in food craving in obese food addicted individuals. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study explored the potential therapeutic effects of infraslow neurofeedback (ISF-NF) on food craving targeting the PCC in obese women with symptoms of food addiction. Participants received six sessions of either ISF-NF (n = 11) or placebo (n = 10) over a three-week period. There were no reported adverse effects. Electrophysiologically, there were significant increases in infraslow activity (p = 0.0002) and infraslow/beta nesting (p < 0.001) in the PCC in the ISF-NF group (mean r = 0.004 ± 0.002) compared to placebo (mean r = 0.02 ± 0.002) two days after the last intervention. Also, there was a significant decrease in different dimensions of state food craving compared to baseline and to placebo. Findings suggest that source localized IFS-NF results in electrophysiological changes and may be associated with reduced food craving. This trial is registered at www.anzctr.org.au, identifier, ACTRN12617000601336. This study was funded by the Otago Medical Research Grant: CT375.”
Problematic eating behaviours, changes in appetite, and weight gain in Major Depressive Disorder: The role of leptin
Mills, J. G., Thomas, S. J., Larkin, T. A., Pai, N. B., & Deng, C. (2018). Problematic eating behaviours, changes in appetite, and weight gain in Major Depressive Disorder: The role of leptin. Journal of Affective Disorders, 240, 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.07.069 From the research article’s abstract: “Appetite and weight changes are core symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and those with MDD are at increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Leptin promotes satiety, with leptin dysregulation and resistance noted in obesity. However, the role of leptin in weight changes in MDD is not established. This study investigates leptin levels in relation to appetite and weight changes and problematic eating behaviours in MDD. Plasma leptin levels, psychopathology and biometrics were compared between participants meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for MDD (n = 63) and healthy controls (n = 60). Depressed participants were also sub-categorised according to increased, decreased or unchanged appetite and weight. The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Yale Food Addiction Scale were examined in a subset of participants with MDD. Females with increased appetite/weight had higher leptin levels than those with stable or reduced appetite/weight, however males showed the opposite effect.
Moving beyond the “eating addiction” versus “food addiction” debate: Comment on Schulte et al. (2017)
Lacroix, E., Tavares, H., & von Ranson, K. M. (2018). Moving beyond the “eating addiction” versus “food addiction” debate: Comment on Schulte et al. (2017). Appetite, 130, 286–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.06.025 From the research article’s abstract: “In a recent commentary, Schulte et al. (2017) argued that addictive-like eating should be conceptualized as a substance use disorder rather than a behavioural addiction, and noted that many parallels that Hebebrand et al. (2014) drew between addictive-like eating and behavioural addictions apply likewise to substance use disorders. However, we argue that many of the arguments advanced by Schulte et al. (2017) in support of a substance-based food addiction model, including the important role played by ingested substances, are nonspecific. That is, these arguments apply equally well to behavioural addictions and other mental disorders, notably eating disorders, which raises the question of whether the phenomenon of addictive-like eating is encompassed by existing eating disorder diagnoses. Similarities between addictive-like eating and substance use, no matter how compelling, do not ensure the validity or clinical utility of a substance-based food addiction model and should not drive the conceptualization of addictive-like eating.