48 BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTIONDIETDIETAppetite, looked at how giving information
about food addiction affects people’s behaviour
and preferences. In the study, 60 volunteers
read different ‘news stories’ claiming scientists
had either proven or disproven the existence
of food addiction, before taking a taste test of
healthy and unhealthy foods.
“Among people who had just read that food
addiction was real there was an interesting
split,” Prof Rogers explains. “Some people ate
a lot, some people very little indeed. Which
fits the theory that some people, having readthe passage, thought ‘I can’t help myself’ and
succumbed, while others thought ‘these foods
are addictive’ and refrained. So it seems that
the more people read about food addiction, the
more t hey have a pa r t ic u la r m i ndset when t hey
are confronted with certain kinds of foods –
and that can be helpful or unhelpful.”
This may hint towards possible treatments
for problem overeating. Having a concept of
certain ‘problem foods’ that cause people to
overeat and that should be avoided, could be
used in a similar way to the complete abstinence
model used to ma nage convent iona l add ic t ions.
Before deciding on possible treatments,
though, there needs to be a consensus as to
whether food addiction actually exists and, if
so, how it functions. As yet, the experts are far
from agreed on these points. Clearly, certain
people do crave certain foods, but we don’t
fully understand what drives these cravings,
or what reward people get from eating these
foods. So, there’s still plenty to chew over.“Everyone must eat to survive,
so an addiction has to be
something much more extreme
than normal eating”
5 to encourage the public to use these terms,
because they will understandably expect it
is similar to addictions to heroin, nicotine or
alcohol, which is not true.”
Even as a clinician, Prof Macdonald says he
is reluctant to use the term ‘food addiction’.
“I don’t think health professionals should
use the term unless they make it very clear
exactly what they’re talking about. The term
‘eating addiction’ is now being recognised
in psychological circles as being helpful in
describing altered behaviour and cravings for
specific types of food, or food in general. But
even this can be used inappropriately and
over-interpreted.”
It’s possible to see how the concept of addiction
might be counterproductive. Labelling ‘food
addiction’ as a disease may create or reinforce
a perception that excessive eating is something
we are powerless to resist. If someone told
you chocolate was addictive, or you were
hard-wired to get hooked on junk food, would
this strengthen or weaken your New Year’s
resolutions to eat healthily?
Prof Peter Rogers, who studies nutrition,
behaviour and the brain’s control of appetite
at the University of Bristol, says labelling
food addiction as a condition could have
unpredictable effects. “A label like ‘food
addiction’ is not trivial; it can have an effect
that directly influences our experience of
eating, of feeling hungry and wanting to
eat.” His research, published in the journal
48 BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTIONby LILIAN ANEKWE (@SoMe_Lilian)
Lilian is an award-winning medical and health
journalist, and social media editor at New Scientist.Dr Ashley Gearhardt’s
Fast Lab explores eating
behaviour in study
participantsASHLEY GEARHARDT/UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ISTOCK X2