Certain foods can trigger addiction-like responses in humans
Mounting neurobiological and clinical evidence indicates that highly palatable foods can trigger dopamine- and opioid-mediated reward responses in humans that parallel those seen in substance use disorders, though some researchers debate the diagnostic boundaries of 'food addiction.'
The retrieved literature contains several robust reviews and neuroimaging studies (e.g., fMRI analyses) demonstrating that highly palatable, sweet, or high-fat foods activate reward circuitry (such as striatal and dopaminergic pathways) in ways that closely mirror substance addictions. While a minority review paper questions the diagnostic validity and terminology of 'food addiction' versus standard eating behaviors, the overwhelming weight of neurobiological and clinical evidence supports the claim.
I. García‐García, Annette Horstmann, M. A. Jurado, M. Garolera, S. Chaudhry, D. Margulies, A. Villringer, J. Neumann. Reward processing in obesity, substance addiction and non‐substance addiction. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12221
Demonstrates that participants with obesity exhibit neural hyperactivity in the amygdala and striatum similar to substance addiction when processing rewarding food stimuli.
Oliveira J, Bestetti GC, Stelmo IC, Antunes L, Vilella PR. Questioning the validity of food addiction: a critical review.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1562185
Argues that concepts like food cravings and loss of control may not constitute a framework consistent with true addiction and risk conceptual confusion.
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J. Simon, Mandy Skunde, S. Walther, M. Bendszus, W. Herzog, H. Friederich. Neural signature of food reward processing in bulimic-type eating disorders.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw049
Shows that patients with eating disorders have an altered responsiveness in brain reward networks specifically for food rewards.
Maqsood S, Ahmed F, Arshad MT, Ikram A, Abdullahi MA. Comparative Analysis of Food Addiction and Obesity: A Critical Review.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.70799
Reviews evidence that sweet, fatty, and processed foods overactivate dopamine and opioid reward pathways, contributing to addiction-like behaviors.
Atar A. Neurobiological Consequences of High-Fat High-Sugar Diets on the Mesocorticolimbic System: a Narrative Review.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-026-00729-5
Examines how high-fat, high-sugar diets reshape mesocorticolimbic dopamine and opioid signaling, promoting tolerance and compulsive consumption that mirror substance addiction.
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