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Cited by 191Eating Disorders and BehaviorsRegulation of Appetite and ObesityNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 205 of the 205 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The role of reward circuitry and food addiction in the obesity epidemic: An update

Leigh, Sarah-Jane, Morris, Margaret J.·2018·Biological Psychology
DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.12.013
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Abstract

The increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity is partially related to the ready availability of highly palatable foods which increases the incidence of hedonic, non-homeostatic feeding. The "food addiction" hypothesis postulates that exposure to these foods alters the brain's reward circuitry, driving an addiction-like behavioural phenotype of compulsive overeating. This review highlights recent evidence that examines changes in the mesolimbic dopaminergic circuit, the primary component of the reward system, associated with exposure to highly palatable foods and obesity. The majority of obesity studies in animals have not measured addictive-like behaviours, but reports of such behaviours have been restricted to experiments using models of binge eating. Where examined, the prevalence of addiction-like behaviour in overweight and obese subjects indicates that 10-25% of the population meets the Yale Food Addiction Score criteria. There is considerable overlap in the behaviours ascribed to food addiction and binge eating disorder, and food addiction scores correlate highly with measures of binge eating. We feel that more research is required in humans to determine whether food addiction is both behaviourally and neurobiologically distinct from binge eating disorder. While the reward circuitry is clearly affected by both highly palatable foods and diet-induced obesity in a similar manner to short and long exposure to drugs of abuse, the challenge for the future is to show that these neurobiological changes are associated with addiction-like behaviour.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.12.013

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Avena, 2013, Effects of baclofen and naltrexone, alone and in combination, in rat food addiction model, American Journal on Addictions, 22
  2. Avena, 2006, Evidence of sugar addiction in rats: Links to drug abuse and eating disorders, Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 67, 1195
  3. Davis, 2009, Binge eating disorder: An addiction perspective, Directions in Psychiatry, 29, 177
  4. Gearhardt, 2012, Defining food addiction and assessing its role in treatments, Directions in Psychiatry, 32, 15
  5. Gearhardt, 2013, An examination of the validity of food addiction, Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 73
  6. Potenza, 2015, Food addiction: Diagnostic, classification and co-occurring disorder considerations, Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4

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Metadata

Authors
Leigh, S.-J., & Morris, M. J.
Affiliations
UNSW Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Morris, Margaret J.
ORCID
Venue
Biological Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-01
Volume
131
Pages
31-42
ISSN
0301-0511 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.12.013
OpenAlex
W2563821226
Cited by
191
References
205
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 17
FWCI
2.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Biological Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia to MJM
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
food addiction, obesity, reward systems, mesolimbic dopamine system, highly palatable food, binge eating, binge eating disorder, compulsive eating, Yale Food Addiction Scale, diet-induced obesity
MeSH terms
Food Addiction, Animals, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity, Reward, Binge-Eating Disorder

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