Lifestyle and Diet
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy in Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Food addiction or eating addiction is a type of behavioral addiction that is a compulsive overeating of palatable foods. People with food addictions lose control over their eating behavior and find themselves spending excessive amounts of time involved with food and overeating (142–143). Like addictive drugs, palatable foods trigger good brain chemicals such as the neurotransmitter dopamine. As a result, people keep eating, even when they are not hungry or they know the negative consequences of overeating, such as obesity, diabetes, and CVDs (142). The evidence further suggests that certain foods, particularly processed foods with added sweeteners and fats, demonstrate the greatest addictive potential. Though both behavioral and substance-related factors are implicated in the addiction process, symptoms appear to better fit criteria for substance use disorder than behavioral addiction (143).
Diagnosis of Addictions
Hanna Pickard, Serge H. Ahmed in The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Science of Addiction, 2019
Although excess is a common characteristic of addictions, its definition is difficult. Excess may be defined by use over a pre-determined threshold that may be defined by quantity or frequency. Excess may also be defined by any quantity/frequency as long as it has negative consequences, acute or chronic. Nevertheless, substances that are commonly taken to excess have been shown to directly activate the brain reward system, which is involved in the reinforcement of behaviors and the production of memories (Volkow et al. 2016). Similarly, behaviors that are practiced to excess have been shown to activate most of the same reward pathways activated by substances (Noori et al. 2016). The pharmacological mechanisms by which each class of substances activates the reward pathways are different, but a common outcome is the production of pleasure (an experience that motivates repetition). This is also reported for behaviors that can be practiced to excess. Although the pleasure produced by most of the substances is more intense and reliable than that produced by behaviors, inter-individual variability is important to recognize. Gambling and gaming, physical exercise, sex, and use of the Internet are all examples of behaviors for which the activation of the reward system has been documented and for which there are reports of a pleasurable effect. It is an open question whether excessive food consumption is more like a substance addiction or a behavioral addiction (Gearhardt et al. in this volume).
Neurofeedback in an Integrative Medical Practice
Hanno W. Kirk in Restoring the Brain, 2020
The overuse of electronic media, including television, computers, and video games, is another concern for the general population as well as in patients receiving neurofeedback. The American Academy of Pediatrics has determined that the average child spends 7 hours using entertainment media, and recommends that children under the age of 2 use no media, with older children and teens using only 1–2 hours a day.71 Media exposure is linked to drug use, alcohol use, low academic achievement, earlier initiation of risky sexual behaviors,72 eating disorders, obesity, sleep disorders, and attention issues.73 Functional MRI has shown that playing violent video games is directly connected with lasting changes in the brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control.74,75 A small percentage of child and teen video game players show multiple signs of behavioral addiction, including academic problems, increased lying, and inability to cut back on gaming.76
Translation and validation of the addiction-like Eating Behavior Scale from English to Portuguese in Brazil
Published in Journal of Addictive Diseases, 2020
Tiago Queiroz Cardoso, Camila Wanderley Pereira, Tainah de Souza Costa, Murilo Duarte da CostaLima
Accordingly, recent studies have elucidated important similarities between the mechanisms of addiction related to food and drugs, including within the neurobiological sphere, consequently reinforcing the psychoactive and addictive properties of some foods.5 However, due to the importance of the behavioral component, some authors argue that this addiction should be classified as a behavioral addiction.2 Generally, behavioral addictions are related to a sizeable excitation generated by pleasurable stimuli and a low capacity for inhibitory control, favoring the repeated engagement in that behavior, even in the face of eventual harm;6 notably, gambling disorder was the first and is currently the only disorder officially classified as a behavioral addiction.7
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
Published in Psychiatry, 2021
Matthew T. Hunter, Joshua C. Morganstein
One of the more potentially controversial and insightful sections, was Alter’s inclusion of psychologist Stanton Peele’s take on addiction. He believed that addiction was not a disease, but rather, it was an “association between an unfulfilled psychological need and a set of actions that assuaged that need in the short-term, but was ultimately harmful in the long-term.” Whether you are or are not firmly planted in the disease or non-disease paradigm of addiction, the part to focus on is the importance of having an unfulfilled psychological need. This gets at the heart of the matter with potential treatments, particularly for mental health professionals, and contributes to the never-ending struggles within our medical system to treat the underlying cause vs. the symptoms, or preventative care vs. crisis management. Alter does a fantastic job touching on all of the contributing players of addiction development to provide a well-rounded discussion, whether it is genetic, underlying psychological need, environmental/circumstantial, among others. Although much of the book is spent equating substance and behavior under the addiction umbrella, one interesting divergence with grave consequences is our classification of behavioral addiction. Should we view it through the lens of the medical/disease model or that of the societal/structural model given the sheer numbers of people that behavioral addictions impact today?
An addiction to seeking fortune-telling services: a case report
Published in Journal of Addictive Diseases, 2020
Valentin Yurievich Skryabin
Currently the concept of behavioral addictions remains a bit controversial, and the main question is – What makes a behavior (even a behavior in excess) qualify as an addiction? Many patients with behavioral addictions defend their actions with the claim that they are simply healthy enthusiasts who have been unfairly labeled by the physicians, parents, police, etc. This issue is further complicated by the fact that behavioral addictions involve “normal” drives, i.e. highly rewarding and reinforcing drives toward sex, food, love and money, which can be considered addictions only when such behaviors reach a certain degree of excess and self-harm. Thus, excessive (or in some cases, even embarrassing) behavior does not warrant the diagnosis of behavioral addiction, but rather the individual’s inability to curtail the activity despite the negative consequences is what stands as the hallmark of the addiction process.
Related Knowledge Centers
- ADDiction
- Compulsive Behavior
- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- International Classification of Diseases
- Psychopathology
- Reward System
- Transcription Factor
- Fosb
- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Problem Gambling
- Video Game ADDiction
- International Classification of Diseases