Abstract
Based upon DSM-V criteria for substance use disorders, evidence for sugar addiction is lacking. Food addiction has been defined in humans using the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), which is based upon DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. While the YFAS appears to identify a unique construct related to eating pathology, the majority of obese people do not meet the criteria, and a substantial portion of underweight and normal weight subjects do meet the criteria. Thus, food addiction, as defined by the YFAS, cannot account for the high rates of obesity in the United States. In contrast to obesity, many who engage in binge eating meet the criteria for food addiction using the YFAS. Although YFAS criteria for food addiction are often met by those who binge, the addictive substance has not been identified. Brain imaging studies do not support an addiction model. Much of the food-related pathology that is seen clinically can be explained and treated without invoking addiction as the explanation for the behavioral problems.
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