Can Food Be Addictive? Essay Example

The article claims that some foods can be addictive on the basis of psychological cravings for chemicals contained within them that create certain flavors. While one can argue that an individual can be addicted to any item based its ability to release serotonin in the brain, most substances that are considered to be additive have additional chemical components that intensity this phenomenon. One of the article’s major flaws is the uncertainty with which it presents its results. Throughout the paper, they state that there is a potential relationship between food and addiction, but they never make the evidence appear to be strong.

This study would have been more effective if the authors had conducted a psychological study on members of the population, comparing the brain of obese individuals who believe they are addicted to food to those of a normal weight who do not believe they have this addiction. Both groups could be subject to an MRI scan, in an attempt to identify brain activity related to addiction when a desirable food item is presented to them. The brain waves can be compared between the two groups to determine whether the individual is simply hungry, likes the food item, or is addicted to it. Ultimately, we cannot assume that obese individuals are addicted to food, because there are many causes of obesity.

According to WebMD, overeating isn’t due to food addiction, but rather, learned behavior. Individuals that eat to make themselves happy tend to eat more and more. It is simpler for these individuals to learn to dissociate food with these feelings than it would be to end an addiction. Therefore, we cannot say that food can be addictive. It is simply desirable.