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The plausibility of sugar addiction and its role in obesity and eating disorders
Abstract
Background & aims To consider the hypothesis that addiction to food, or more specifically sucrose, plays a role in obesity and eating disorders.Methods By considering the relevant literature a series of predictions were examined, derived from the hypothesis that addiction to sucrose consumption can develop. Fasting should increase food cravings, predominantly for sweet items; cravings should occur after an overnight fast; the obese should find sweetness particularly attractive; a high-sugar consumption should predispose to obesity. More specifically predictions based on the hypothesis that addiction to sugar is central to bingeing disorders were developed. Dieting should predate the development of bingeing; dietary style rather than psychological, social and economic factors should be predispose to eating disorders; sweet items should be preferentially consumed while bingeing; opioid antagonists should cause withdrawal symptoms; bingeing should develop at a younger age when there is a greater preference for sweetness.Results The above predications have in common that on no occasion was the behaviour predicted by an animal model of sucrose addiction supported by human studies.Conclusion There is no support from the human literature for the hypothesis that sucrose may be physically addictive or that addiction to sugar plays a role in eating disorders.
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“Nevertheless, the validity of the concept of food addiction remains vigorously debated (41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47).”
From Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men (2013) · cites this paper as [41]
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How could complementary feeding patterns affect the susceptibility to NCD later in life?
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Pharmacogenetics of Obesity Drug Therapy
Guzman, A. K., Ding, M., Xie, Y., & Martin, K. A. (2014) · Current Molecular Medicine · doi:10.2174/1566524014666140811120307 · Cited by 12
Meule, A. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00038 · Cited by 11
“Furthermore, although there are similarities in brain responses to food and drugs, substantial differences have also been noted (20).”
BackgroundA Potential Animal Model of Maladaptive Palatable Food Consumption Followed by Delayed Discomfort
Moshe, L., Bekker, L., & Weller, A. (2017) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2017.00377 · Cited by 11
“, 2011) and it is implicated in motivated reward seeking (Benton, 2010) and avoidance behaviors (Umberg and Pothos, 2011; Baarendse and Vanderschuren, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialAn overview of addiction to sugar
Onaolapo, A. Y., Onaolapo, O. J., & Olowe, O. A. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-816918-6.00009-3 · Cited by 13
Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose, and Health: Modern Scientific Understandings
Rippe, J. M. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-8077-9_1 · Cited by 11
Spörndly-Nees, S., Igelström, H., Lindberg, E., Martin, C., & Åsenlöf, P. (2013) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.3109/09638288.2013.782354 · Cited by 10
“A recent review supports the hypothesis that food addictions exist [43], but this remains controversial [44].”
BackgroundAre Eating Disorders Addictions?
Brewerton, T. D. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-45378-6_13 · Cited by 9
Why Some Women Eat Too Much: A Qualitative Study of Food-Dependent Women
Ostrand, G. V. (2015) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 9
Cafeteria diet can cause systemic inflammation and oxidative damage in the various tissues
Tursun, S., Şahin, Y., Alçığır, M. E., Çínar, M., & Karahan, İ. (2024) · Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism · doi:10.3233/mnm-230068 · Cited by 8
“Cafeteria diet is seen as a successful approach to establish obesity in animal experiments [10].”
Children’s propensity to consume sugar and fat predicts regular alcohol consumption in adolescence
Mehlig, K., Bogl, L. H., Hunsberger, M. L., Ahrens, W., Henauw, S. D., Iguacel, I., Jilani, H. S., Molnár, D., Pala, V. M., Russo, P., et al. (2018) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980018001829 · Cited by 9
“This claim was criticized because sugar consumption is associated with reward and craving, but other symptoms of addiction such as tolerance or withdrawal are less clear((13)).”
Sal-Sarria, S., López-Taboada, I., González‐Pardo, H., Fernández-Blanco, A., & Conejo, N. M. (2025) · Brain Research Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111300 · Cited by 7
“Finally, it is worth noting that this discrepancy may be due to other factors, such as palatability and its relationship with stress (Benton, 2010; Sinha and Jastreboff, 2013), or other factors, such as the rodent strain used or the timing of exposure.”
Le goût sucré, de l’enfance… à la dépendance ?
Nicklaus, S., & Divert, C. (2013) · Cahiers de Nutrition et de Diététique · doi:10.1016/j.cnd.2013.06.002 · Cited by 7
“C’est à cette définition moins stricte que nous ferons référence pour tenter d’analyser la possibilité d’une addiction au sucre [2].”
The Use of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Drug Addictions
Hone‐Blanchet, A., & Fecteau, S. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-404704-4.00015-6 · Cited by 7
Food addiction and its associations to trauma, severity of illness, and comorbidity
Brewerton, T. D. (2019) · Compulsive Eating Behavior and Food Addiction · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-816207-1.00015-9 · Cited by 6
[Importance of sucrose in cognitive functions: knowledge and behavior].
Navarro, S. Z., & Llamas, F. P. (2013) · PubMed · doi:10.3305/nh.2013.28.sup4.6803 · Cited by 6
Piccinni, A., Marazziti, D., Cargioli, C., Mauri, M., & Stallone, T. (2018) · Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation · doi:10.1515/hmbci-2018-0021 · Cited by 6
Ahmed, S. H. (2012) · Obésité · doi:10.1007/s11690-012-0307-z · Cited by 7
“On pourrait être tenté d’emblée de répondre par la négative à toutes ces questions en faisant remarquer qu’il existe peu de cas manifestes d’addiction aux sucres dans la littérature médicale [10].”
BackgroundThe battle over “food addiction”
Lustig, R. H. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1621742 · Cited by 4
“Sugar craving can vary widely by age, menstrual cycle and time of day (90).”
Ahmed, S. H., Avena, N. M., Berridge, K. C., Gearhardt, A. N., & Guillem, K. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88832-9_110 · Cited by 5
Rippe, J. M. (2014) · American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.1177/1559827613520527 · Cited by 4
“These considerations have been outlined in 3 recent reviews disputing the applicability of the addiction model to obesity and food consumption.(29,31,32)”
BackgroundDissecting compulsive eating behavior into three elements
Moore, C. F., Sabino, V., Koob, G. F., & Cottone, P. (2019) · Compulsive Eating Behavior and Food Addiction · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-816207-1.00003-2 · Cited by 4
Introducing sensory and cognitive influences on satiation and satiety
Yeomans, M. R. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119044970.ch1 · Cited by 4
Nomura, H., Son, C., Aotani, D., Shimizu, Y., Katsuura, G., Noguchi, M., Kusakabe, T., Tanaka, T., Miyazawa, T., Hosoda, K., et al. (2021) · Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1016/j.neures.2021.12.007 · Cited by 3
Russell, C., Baker, P., Grimes, C. A., & Lawrence, M. A. (2023) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/daac101 · Cited by 3
Sugars and obesity: Meta‐analysis establishes the strength of the correlation, not the cause
Reid, M., & Hammersley, R. (2014) · Nutrition Bulletin · doi:10.1111/nbu.12085 · Cited by 3
Reemphasizing the Role of Fructose Intake as a Risk Factor for Dementia
Siervo, M., Wells, J. C. K., Brayne, C., & Stephan, B. C. M. (2011) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/glq222 · Cited by 3
Thornley, S., & Sundborn, G. (2014) · PubMed · Cited by 3
Proposed Link Between Fructose Intake and Dementia Risk is Not Persuasive
White, J. S. (2011) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/glr026 · Cited by 3
“Benton D.”
BackgroundInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Benton, D.
- Affiliations
- Swansea University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Benton, David
- ORCID
- Benton, David
- Venue
- Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-06
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 288-303
- ISSN
- 0261-5614 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1969292536
- Cited by
- 144
- References
- 160
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 8.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Keywords
- sugar addiction, sucrose, obesity, eating disorders, binge eating, food cravings, fasting, sweet taste preference, opioid antagonists, dieting, animal models of addiction
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Diet, Dopamine, Food Preferences, Humans, Narcotic Antagonists, Obesity, Reward, Dietary Sucrose, Substance-Related Disorders
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