Carter, A., Hendrikse, J., Lee, N., Yücel, M., Verdejo-Garcia, A., Andrews, Z. B., & Hall, W. (2016). The Neurobiology of “Food Addiction” and Its Implications for Obesity Treatment and Policy. Annu Rev Nutr, 36, 105-128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-050909 “There is a growing view that certain foods, particularly those high in refined sugars and fats, are addictive and that some forms of obesity can usefully be treated as a Food Addiction.” — From the Abstract
Addictive-Like Eating, Body Mass Index, and Psychological Correlates in a Community Sample of Preadolescents
Laurent, J. S., & Sibold, J. (2016). Addictive-Like Eating, Body Mass Index, and Psychological Correlates in a Community Sample of Preadolescents. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 30(3), 216–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2015.06.010 From the research article’s abstract: “The two main objectives were to identify addictive-like eating in youth and determine the relationship between addictive-like eating, hedonic hunger, and psychological variables. A cross-sectional design was used. Each subject’s objective heights and weights were measured. Subjects completed questionnaires about anxiety, depression, appetitive responsiveness, addictive-like eating, other forms of disordered eating, and exercise patterns. Sixty-five children, ages 9 to 14 years, participated in the study. The mean body mass index percentile for age and gender was 69%. Thirty-eight percent of the children were either overweight or obese. Sixteen percent reported three or more addictive-like eating behaviors, and 4% met the criteria for “food addiction.” Addictive-like eating was significantly correlated with appetitive responsiveness but not body mass index, anxiety, depression, or other measures of disordered eating. Addictive-like eating occurs in children as young as 9 years and appears to be a different type of disordered eating. The hedonic value and proximity of food is a contributor to addictive-like eating behaviors.”
Recent studies of the effects of sugars on brain systems involved in energy balance and reward: Relevance to low calorie sweeteners
Murray, S., Tulloch, A., Criscitelli, K., & Avena, N. M. (2016). Recent studies of the effects of sugars on brain systems involved in energy balance and reward: Relevance to low calorie sweeteners. Physiology & Behavior, 164(Pt B), 504–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.004 From the research article’s abstract: “The alarmingly high rates of overweight and obesity pose a serious global health threat. Numerous factors can result in weight gain, one of which is excess consumption of caloric sweeteners. In an effort to aid weight loss efforts, many people have switched from caloric sweeteners to low calorie sweeteners, which provide sweet taste without the accompanying calories. In this review, we present an overview of the animal literature produced in the last 5 years highlighting the effects of sugar consumption on neural pathways involved in energy balance regulation and reward processing. We also examine the latest evidence that is beginning to elucidate the effects of low calorie sweeteners on these neural pathways, as well as how homeostatic and hedonic systems interact in response to, or to influence, sugar consumption.”
Food Addiction: definition, measurement and prevalence in healthy subjects and in patients with eating disorders
Imperatori, C., Fabbricatore, M., Vumbaca, V., Innamorati, M., Contardi, A., & Farina, B. (2016). Food Addiction: definition, measurement and prevalence in healthy subjects and in patients with eating disorders. Rivista di Psichiatria, 51(2), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.1708/2246.24196 From the research article’s summary: “The construct of “Food Addiction” (FA) has been introduced in the last decades to better understand abnormal eating patterns in obese and overweight people and in patients with Eating Disorders (EDs). Despite a substantial parallelism between drug addiction and FA, there is still no agreement in considering FA an independent ED or a useful convincing concept. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to aggregate available data, in order to increase knowledge about: 1) definition, measurement and general features of FA; 2) prevalence of FA in clinical and non-clinical samples.
A sad mood increases attention to unhealthy food images in women with food addiction
Frayn, M., Sears, C. R., & von Ranson, K. M. (2016). A sad mood increases attention to unhealthy food images in women with food addiction. Appetite, 100, 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.008 From the psychological study’s abstract: “For participants with food addiction, attention to unhealthy images increased following the sad MI, whereas for participants without food addiction the sad MI did not alter attention.”
Central nervous system regulation of eating: insights from human brain imaging
Farr Olivia M., Li Chiang-shan R., Mantzoros Christos S., Central nervous system regulation of eating: insights from human brain imaging, Metabolism (2016), doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2016.02.00 From the conclusion: “FMRI combined with neurocognitive testing and food cue paradigms in humans hold great promise in unraveling how the homeostatic, reward, cognitive and affective systems interact to control appetite and eating. PET and SPECT imaging are instrumental to revealing the molecular determinants of these neural processes. Together, these imaging tools are critical to understanding how the brain is altered in obesity including potential subtypes of obesity (e.g. emotional eaters) and to developing new pharmacological regimens to effectively treat obesity. farr2016 .pdf
Food addiction associations with psychological distress among people with type 2 diabetes
Raymond, K. L., & Lovell, G. P. (2016). Food addiction associations with psychological distress among people with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, 30(4), 651-656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2016.01.020 From the research article’s abstract: “Aims: To assess the relationship between a food addiction (FA) model and psychological distress among a type 2 diabetes (t2d) sample. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 334 participants with t2d diagnoses were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire. We measured variables of psychological distress implementing the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), and other factors associated with t2d. Results: In our study a novel finding highlighted people with t2d meeting the FA criterion had significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress scores as compared to participants who did not meet the FA criterion. Moreover, FA symptomology explained 35% of the unique variance in depression scores, 34% of the unique variance in anxiety scores, and 34% of the unique variance in stress scores, while surprisingly, BMI explained less than 1% of the unique variance in scores. Conclusion:
“Food addiction” is associated with night eating severity
Nolan, L. J., & Geliebter, A. (2016). “Food addiction” is associated with night eating severity. Appetite, 98, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.12.025 From the research article’s abstract: “Night eating syndrome (NES) and “food addiction” (FA) are associated with elevated body mass index (BMI) and disturbed eating behavior. The present study was conducted to examine whether NES is associated with FA, and whether BMI, depression and sleep quality contribute to any relationship between NES and FA. Two groups were studied: a sample of 254 university students and a sample of 244 older adults. All completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), the Zung Self-report Depression Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and BMI was computed from height and weight. In both samples, higher global NEQ scores were significantly correlated with more FA symptoms, elevated depression, and poorer sleep quality, and these correlations were significantly higher in the older adult sample than in the younger student sample.
A Systematic Review of the Application And Correlates of YFAS-Diagnosed ‘Food Addiction’ in Humans: Are Eating-Related ‘Addictions’ a Cause for Concern or Empty Concepts?
Long, C. G., Blundell, J. E., & Finlayson, G. (2015). A Systematic Review of the Application And Correlates of YFAS-Diagnosed ‘Food Addiction’ in Humans: Are Eating-Related ‘Addictions’ a Cause for Concern or Empty Concepts?. Obesity facts, 8(6), 386–401. https://doi.org/10.1159/000442403 The proposition of so-called ‘food addiction’ (FA) in the scientific literature has stimulated a recent surge in research and debate. The concept of FA is controversial, and opinion is divided. Many of the findings depend upon the use of a single instrument called the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). This review systematically examined FA, as defined by the YFAS, reported in 40 experimental human studies published in or after 2009. The results indicated that much of the literature makes the supposition that food addiction is an accepted neurobiological disease, consistent with substance use disorders; an interpretation based on very limited data. This raises the question as to whether those individuals who meet the YFAS criteria for diagnosis are truly ‘addicted’ to food or if they experience significant impairment to their psychological wellbeing and quality of life as would be expected in clinically recognised addictive disorders. At the present time, little research has investigated the extent to which a psychometric self-assessment of FA symptomatology can elucidate a harmful relationship with target foods in the diet. A positive YFAS diagnosis is usually positively associated with BMI and strongly linked with the presence of binge eating, but certain exceptions within the literature were revealed. Further clarification is required as to whether so-called FA is sufficiently different to existing conditions and traits to warrant classification as a distinctive disease phenotype rather than an expression of strong habits and preferences. 442403.pdf
Insights revealed by rodent models of sugar binge eating
Murray, S. M., Tulloch, A. J., Chen, E. Y., & Avena, N. M. (2015). Insights revealed by rodent models of sugar binge eating. CNS Spectrums, 20(6), 530–536. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852915000656 From the research article’s abstract: “Binge eating is seen across the spectrum of eating disorder diagnoses as well as among individuals who do not meet diagnostic criteria. Analyses of the specific types of foods that are frequently binged upon reveal that sugar-rich items feature prominently in binge-type meals, making the effects of binge consumption of sugar an important focus of study. One avenue to do this involves the use of animal models. Foundational and recent studies of animal models of sugar bingeing, both outlined here, lend insight into the various neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that may participate in or be altered by this behavior. Further, several preclinical studies incorporating sugar bingeing paradigms have explored the utility of pharmacological agents that target such neural systems for reducing sugar bingeing in an effort to enhance clinical treatment.