Why you can get addicted to food just like cigarettes or drugs

Nicotine, drugs, gambling, sex – even smartphones: these are the things most of us would associate with the problem of addiction. But what about food?

It's a dividing question, with some scientists arguing there is nothing in our diet with the same physiologically addictive properties as those found in, for example, drugs or alcohol.

But others say the rise in consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is making more of us dependent on the 'high' we get from eating the combination of sugar, fat and additives in them.

UPFs encompass everything from mass-produced chips and breakfast cereals to sliced bread and ready meals, and are broadly defined as foods made with multiple ingredients including additives to enhance flavour, colour and shelf-life. UPFs are increasingly linked with health problems.

Now there is worrying new evidence that ...
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