One agrument against the notion that food is addictive is, of course,the fact that everyone eats. To reconcile this apparent issue, it has been proposed that only certain foods should be considered addictive, specifically those high in:– sugars– salts– fats. These “forbidden” foods are typically:– calorie dense– highly palatable– easily converted to fat by the body’s metabolism– foods that people most often over-consume. References:

1. Avena NM. Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007; 15(5), 481-491.

1. Cocores JA, Gold MS. The Salted Food Addiction Hypothesis may explain overeating and the obesity epidemic. Med Hypotheses. Dec 2009; 73(6), 892-899.

1. Brownell KD and Gold MS. Introduction. In KD Brownell and MSGold (eds) Food and Addiction: A Comprehensive Handbook. (pgs xxi-xxiii) New York: Oxford University Press; 2012.

1. Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG. Animal models of sugar and fat bingeing: relationship to food addiction and increased body weight. Methods in molucular biology. 2012; 829, 351-365.