Are you a “carb craver” or “chocaholic”? We often use language associated with addiction to describe our relationships with food. But is it really possible to be addicted to certain types of food?
The idea of “food addiction” remains controversial and is not yet recognised as a disorder that can be diagnosed in clinical settings. But a growing body of scientific research suggests food addiction may exist. We recently surveyed young Australian adults and found that approximately 15% displayed addictive-like eating tendencies.
Certain foods and eating patterns can prompt behaviours and brain responses similar to those seen in more traditional forms of addiction such as drugs and alcohol. These addictive-like eating behaviours could be contributing to overeating and subsequent obesity in vulnerable individuals. So it could be an important piece of the obesity puzzle.
