People might change their diets if some foods were labelled as “addictive”, says a group of international scientists, whose estimates suggest that one in seven adults and one in eight children could be hooked on ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
The researchers, who did an analysis of 281 studies from 36 countries, said the way some people consume foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates could “meet the criteria for diagnosis of substance use disorder”.
Behaviours include: intense cravings, symptoms of withdrawal, less control over intake, and continued use, despite such consequences as obesity, binge eating disorder, poorer physical and mental health, and lower quality of life, they said.
The review found that “ultra-processed food addiction” is estimated to occur in 14% of adults and 12% of children, reports The Independent.
If some foods high in carbohydrates and fats are viewed as “addictive” it could potentially improve health through changes to social, clinical and political policies, recommended the scientists.
“There is converging and consistent support for the validity and clinical relevance of food addiction,” said Ashley Gearhardt, the article’s corresponding author and a psychology professor at the University of Michigan.
“By acknowledging that certain types of processed foods have the properties of addictive substances, we may be able to help improve global health.”
It would also drive more research in these areas, the authors added.
Co-author Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in the US, said: “Given how prevalent these foods are – they make up 58% of calories consumed in the United States – there is so much we don’t know.”
The authors of the paper, which has been published in The BMJ, gave the example of a portion of salmon and a chocolate bar – the salmon has a carbohydrate to fat ratio of roughly 0-to-1. In contrast, the chocolate bar has a carbohydrate to fat ratio of 1-to-1, which appears to increase a food’s addictive potential, they said.
“Many ultra-processed foods have higher levels of both. That combination has a different effect on the brain,” DiFeliceantonio added.
The researchers, from the US, Brazil and Spain, said: “Refined carbohydrates or fats evoke similar levels of extracellular dopamine in the brain striatum to those seen with addictive substances like nicotine and alcohol.
“Based on these behavioural and biological parallels, foods that deliver high levels of refined carbohydrates or added fats are a strong candidate for an addictive substance.”
The speed in which these foods deliver carbohydrates and fats to the gut could also play a role in their “addictive potential”, the authors added.
Food additives may also contribute to the “addictiveness of UPFs”, they said. While these additives, which are added to food for taste and to “improve the mouth feel” are unlikely to be addictive on their own, they could “become powerful reinforcers of the effects of calories in the gut”, they wrote.
But the academics stress that not all foods have addictive potential.
“While further careful research is needed to determine the exact mechanism by which these foods trigger addictive responses, UPFs high in refined carbohydrates and fats are clearly consumed in addictive patterns and are leading to deleterious health outcomes.”
They added: “Ultra-processed foods high in refined carbohydrates and added fats are highly rewarding, appealing, and consumed compulsively and may be addictive.
“Behaviours around ultra-processed food may meet the criteria for diagnosis of substance use disorder in some people.”
A recent review by UK Government scientists concluded that evidence linking UPFs to a range of health issues “needs to be treated with caution”.
Some studies and books have linked ultra-processed foods such as ice cream, crisps, mass-produced bread and breakfast cereals, to a number of poor health outcomes, including an increased risk of some cancers, weight gain and heart disease.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Wake-up call for governments as studies flag high risk of ultra processed foods
Depression risk fed by ultra-processed foods – Australian study
Cancer threat raised by ultra-processed foods – UK-led study