Valentin, F., Corentin, G., Aurélien, C. et al. Toward a triadic approach in eating disorders: investigating the contribution of the reflexive, affective, and interoceptive systems in a clinical data cohort. J Eat Disord (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-026-01602-0
Researchers explored how three systems—thinking patterns (reflexive), emotions (affective), and body awareness (interoceptive)—relate to food addiction across different eating disorders. In a clinical sample of patients, they found that food addiction was most strongly linked to interoceptive difficulties, meaning trouble recognizing internal signals like hunger and fullness, along with emotional distress connected to eating. The cognitive system, which includes flexible thinking, played a smaller role when all factors were considered together.
As the authors conclude, “interoceptive and affective disturbances [are] relevant…in FA across eating disorder diagnoses,” while the reflexive system contributes less strongly. The findings suggest that food addiction is driven less by simple decision-making and more by how the body and emotions interact, reinforcing the idea that addictive eating patterns are deeply tied to internal experience rather than just behavior alone.