The concept of “food addiction” helps inform the understanding of overeating and obesity: Debate Consensus

Abstract

There is an ongoing scientific debate about whether unhealthy, highly processed foods are addictive and whether this contributes to overeating and obesity. Through this debate series, we identified numerous points of consensus, including that 1) addictive-like eating exists, 2) mechanisms implicated in substance-related and addictive disorders contribute to overeating and obesity, and 3) food industry practices are also a key contributor to this phenomenon. We also agree that obesity, a multifaceted condition, is not synonymous with addictive-like eating and that further research is needed to clarify the understanding of addictive-like eating. Disagreements remain regarding the strength of evidence that highly processed foods are addictive, the appropriate framework for conceptualizing addictive-like eating, and the societal implications of identifying unhealthy, highly processed foods as addictive. Finally, we highlight future research needed to address existing gaps in the scientific literature that underlie continuing controversies, most notably the need for scientific consensus about what measures should be used to evaluate whether highly processed foods are addictive.