You can be addicted to food (why don't we surprise you?), but it's probably not possible to become addicted to a specific nutrient, such as sugar or fat.
Behavioral problem The response to food is not physical, but psychological:our brains associate food with positive feelings and so we crave more. That makes eating addiction a behavioral problem, just like gambling addiction, for example.
New insight
This insight could lead to new treatment options for food addiction. There is not yet an official classification for food addiction within the field of mental disorders.
Discussion point
The debate about whether sugar is addictive has been going on for some time. According to this study, there is still too little scientific evidence that a food has addictive properties.
In the next issue of Santé you will find a dossier about our complicated relationship with food. In stores from September 23.
