Elisa Giot, Olivier Ethgen, Nadia Dardenne, Sandrine Péneau, & Axelle Hoge

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13690-026-02006-x

In a cross-sectional study completed among higher education students in Belgium, researchers examined how students perceived the addictive potential of foods with different levels of processing. The study used a Best-Worst Scaling approach to compare foods and assess how processing level influenced perceptions of addictive-like eating. The findings showed that ultra-processed foods were consistently ranked as having the highest perceived addictiveness, with foods such as chips, chocolate brownies, sugary sweets, and soft drinks rated as more problematic than minimally processed or processed foods. The results highlight differences in perceived addictiveness between food categories and the potential role of ultra-processed foods in addictive-like eating behaviors.