What is food addiction & why is it similar to other substance addiction challenges?

Food addiction refers to dependency-like behaviours linked to certain foods, especially ultra-processed, refined, or high-glycaemic carbohydrates, that repeatedly activate reward pathways and reinforce craving and intake. The report notes that the term was described as early as 1956 and connects it to high-reward modern food formulations.

Food addiction presents a challenge similar to other substance addiction challenges because some foods, particularly high-sugar and refined-carbohydrate combinations, stimulate reward circuitry in ways that parallel substance addiction, including mesolimbic dopamine signalling from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens. This is why ‘moderation’ can fail for many people; the mechanism is reinforcement, not preference alone.

PSGRNZ have interviewed Professor Ashley Gearhardt and Dr Jen Unwin, both of whom have played important roles in understanding the aetiology of food addiction, researching food addiction and understanding pathways to shift away from food addiction.

What is food addiction & why is it similar to other substance addiction challenges?

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