The concept of food addiction has drawn a lot of interest in the scientific community, with some proposing it as a potential underlying contributor to obesity and others seeing it as a symptom of having excess body weight. The YFAS contains 25 self-reported questions that may help identify food addiction. In fact, researchers developed the YFAS based on information in the DSM-4 about the symptoms and associated behaviors of substance use disorders. In theory, it is possible to explain this behavior by the phenomenon of incentive sensitization, which posits that it is possible for a person to want something even if they do not like it, as long as it stimulates the pleasure centers in their brain.įor example, people may crave a sugary beverage because it makes them feel good due to the release of dopamine rather than because they genuinely enjoy drinking that beverage.Įven though the DSM-5 does not list food addiction as a condition, researchers have referred to both the DSM-4 and DSM-5, as well as the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), when studying this phenomenon.

Some studies even suggest that it is the anticipation of food rather than the consumption itself that may trigger food addiction - a “seeking” behavior that people with substance use disorder often display. These hormones are a part of the “ reward system” - or the mesolimbic circuit - in the brain, which is responsible for motivation, want, desire, and cravings. The hippocampus, caudate, and insula are three brain regions that researchers have pinpointed as being implicated in this relationship.įor instance, foods and illicit substances both result in the release of the hormones, such as dopamine, and endogenous opioids that the body naturally produces.

Publications from 2009, 2011, 2016, 2018, and 2019, among others, have highlighted that palatable foods - or even foods in general - stimulate the same parts of the brain and share the same neuronal activities as illicit substances.

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