Lean Plate Club: Is food addictive?
Alcohol, nicotine and cocaine are just a few of the substances known to be addictive. Now, some scientists wonder whether food should be added to the list. “Are there certain things in food that act on the brain and set up a classic addictive process, like tolerance, withdrawal and craving?” asks psychologist Kelly Brownell, who organized a recent scientific meeting on food addiction at Yale University. While research is scanty, the evidence that exists “is extremely interesting and provocative and suggests to me that something is there,” Dr. Brownell says. Whether this problem stems from the same physiological changes that occur with drug and alcohol dependency is not known. “Is it an addiction to food or an addiction to eating?” asks Susan Yanovski, director of the obesity and eating disorders division at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “Or is it another manifestation of a compulsive behavior like gambling?” Brain imaging soon may provide answers
