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Ultra-processed foods can have the same affect as drugs with people experiencing intense cravings, symptoms of withdrawal and continued consumption despite dangerous consequences, researchers have said.
They suggest labelling ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as “addictive” might help some modify their behaviour.
It’s estimated one in seven adults and one in eight children could be hooked on UPFs and people who consume foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates could “meet the criteria for diagnosis of substance use disorder”.
Behaviours which could meet such criteria 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, the scientists said.
A team of international researchers reviewed 281 studies from 36 different countries, finding “ultra-processed food addiction” is estimated to occur in 14% of adults and 12% of children.
They said 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.
“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 in the US.
“By acknowledging that certain types of processed foods have the properties of addictive substances, we may be able to help improve global health.”
The authors of the paper, 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. But 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,” said…
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