Eichen, D. M., et al. (2013). Exploration of “food addiction” in overweight and obese treatment-seeking adults. Appetite, 67, 22–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.03.008 From the study’s results: “Most were female (74.7%) and African American (69.1%). There were no differences in BMI, age, race, or gender between participants with and without FA.”
Does a Shared Neurobiology for Foods and Drugs of Abuse Contribute to Extremes of Food Ingestion in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa?
Kaye, W. H., Wierenga, C. E., Bailer, U. F., Simmons, A. N., Wagner, A., & Bischoff-Grethe, A. (2013). Does a shared neurobiology for foods and drugs of abuse contribute to extremes of food ingestion in anorexia and bulimia nervosa?. Biological psychiatry, 73(9), 836–842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.002 From the literature review’s abstract: “BN and those with substance abuse disorders may share dopamine D2 receptor–related vulnerabilities and imaging studies provide insights into executive corticostriatal processes related to extraordinary inhibition and self-control in AN and diminished inhibitory self-control in BN.”
The Addictive Dimensionality of Obesit
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Tomasi, D., & Baler, R. D. (2013). The addictive dimensionality of obesity. Biological Psychiatry, 73(9), 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.12.020 From the research article’s abstract: “Our brains are hardwired to respond and seek immediate rewards. Thus, it is not surprising that many people overeat, which in some can result in obesity, whereas others take drugs, which in some can result in addiction. Though food intake and body weight are under homeostatic regulation, when highly palatable food is available, the ability to resist the urge to eat hinges on self-control. There is no homeostatic regulator to check the intake of drugs (including alcohol); thus, regulation of drug consumption is mostly driven by self-control or unwanted effects (i.e., sedation for alcohol). Disruption in both the neurobiological processes that underlie sensitivity to reward and those that underlie inhibitory control can lead to compulsive food intake in some individuals and compulsive drug intake in others.
Validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale among a weight-loss surgery population
Clark, S. M., & Saules, K. K. (2013). Validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale among a weight-loss surgery population. Eat Behav, 14(2), 216–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2013.01.002 From the validation study’s abstract: “Those meeting the food addiction criteria had poorer percent total weight loss outcomes (32% vs. 27%).”
An examination of food addiction in a racially diverse sample of obese patients with binge eating disorder in primary care settings
Gearhardt, A. N., et al. (2013). An examination of food addiction in a racially diverse sample… Comp Psychiatry, 54(5), 500–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2012.12.009 From the clinical study’s results: “Classification of food addiction was met by 41.5% of BED patients. Age, race/ethnicity, sex, and education did not differ.”
Food Addiction in adults seeking weight loss treatment. Implications for psychosocial health and weight loss
Brunault, P., Salamé, E., Jaafari, N., Courtois, R., Réveillère, C., Silvain, C., Benyamina, A., Blecha, L., Belin, D., & Ballon, N. (2015). Why do liver transplant patients so often become obese? The addiction transfer hypothesis. Med Hypotheses, 85(1), 68-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2015.03.026 Conclusion: “Findings suggest that individuals attempting to lose weight while combating symptoms of food addiction may be especially prone to eating-related pathologies, internalized weight bias, and body shame. Importantly, findings provide evidence that food addiction may undermine efforts to lose weight. The pathology associated with addiction (e.g., tolerance, withdrawal) could make the adoption of more healthful eating habits especially difficult.”
Food addiction: Detox and abstinence reinterpreted?
Shriner, R. L. (2013). Food addiction: detox and abstinence reinterpreted? Experimental Gerontology, 48(10), 1068-1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2012.12.005 From the research article’s abstract: “The senior patient and/or the geriatrician are confronted with a confusing literature describing how patients interested in combating metabolic syndrome, diabesity (diabetes plus obesity) or simple obesity might best proceed. The present paper gives a brief outline of the basic disease processes that underlie metabolic pro-inflammation, including how one might go about devising the most potent and practical detoxification from such metabolic compromise. The role that dietary restriction plays in pro-inflammatory detoxification (detox), including how a modified fast (selective food abstinence) is incorporated into this process, is developed. The unique aspects of geriatric bariatric medicine are elucidated, including the concepts of sarcopenia and the obesity paradox. Important caveats involving the senior seeking weight loss are offered.
The Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Therapy and Short- and Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy on Self-Concept During a 3-Year Follow-Up
Lindfors, O., Knekt, P., Virtala, E., Laaksonen, M. A., & Helsinki Psychotherapy Study Group. (2012). The Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Therapy and Short- and Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy on Self-Concept During a 3-Year Follow-Up. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(11), 946–953. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182718c6b From the research article’s abstract: “This study compares the effectiveness of solution-focused therapy (SFT) and short- and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (SPP and LPP) on self-concept during a 3-year follow-up. Altogether, 326 patients with mood or anxiety disorder were randomized to SFT, SPP, and LPP in the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study. Outcome was assessed using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior questionnaire at baseline and 7, 12, 24, and 36 months after. Overall, during the first year of follow-up, self-concept improved more in both SFT and SPP than in LPP, indicated by the primary outcome indicators self-directed affiliation (AF) and self-directed autonomy, as well as by most of the eight secondary cluster scores.
The Neurobiological Underpinnings of Obesity and Binge Eating: A Rationale for Adopting the Food Addiction Model
Smith, D. G., & Robbins, T. W. (2013). The neurobiological underpinnings of obesity and binge eating: a rationale for adopting the food addiction model. Biological Psychiatry, 73(9), 804–810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.026 From the research article’s abstract: “The food addiction model of overeating has been proposed to help explain the widespread advancement of obesity over the last 30 years. Parallels in neural substrates and neurochemistry, as well as corresponding motivational and behavioral traits, are increasingly coming to light; however, there are still key differences between the two disorders that must be acknowledged. We critically examine these common and divergent characteristics using the theoretical framework of prominent drug addiction models, investigating the neurobiological underpinnings of both behaviors in an attempt to justify whether classification of obesity and binge eating as an addictive disorder is merited.”
Obesity and addiction: neurobiological overlaps
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Tomasi, D., & Baler, R. D. (2013). Obesity and addiction: neurobiological overlaps. Obesity Reviews, 14(1), 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01031.x From the research article’s abstract: “Drug addiction and obesity appear to share several properties. Both can be defined as disorders in which the saliency of a specific type of reward (food or drug) becomes exaggerated relative to, and at the expense of others rewards. Both drugs and food have powerful reinforcing effects, which are in part mediated by abrupt dopamine increases in the brain reward centres. The abrupt dopamine increases, in vulnerable individuals, can override the brain’s homeostatic control mechanisms. These parallels have generated interest in understanding the shared vulnerabilities between addiction and obesity. Predictably, they also engendered a heated debate. Specifically, brain imaging studies are beginning to uncover common features between these two conditions and delineate some of the overlapping brain circuits whose dysfunctions may underlie the observed deficits.