Is Food Addiction Real? A Closer Look at the Science Behind “Losing Control” Around Food

Is food addiction real?

Many people describe feeling “addicted” to food — overwhelmed by cravings, powerless in the face of chips, cookies, or ice cream, and stuck in an exhausting cycle of overindulgence and guilt. But what if that out-of-control feeling isn’t a sign of addiction, but rather a natural biological response to restriction?

Let’s unpack what we know from the science — and why the path to healing is likely very different from what you might expect.

Restriction Fuels the Cycle

When we deprive ourselves of food — whether intentionally through dieting or due to food insecurity or household rules — the brain responds as if we’re facing famine. This triggers a cascade of changes: fullness hormones like leptin and peptide YY decrease, hunger hormones like ghrelin increase, and metabolism slows. Our bodies become more efficient at conserving energy and more persistent in driving us to seek out food. It’s a survival response, not a failure of willpower.

Mental restriction has the same effect. Even if you’re eating a “forbidden” food, thoughts like “I shouldn’t be eating this,” “I’ll be good tomorrow,” or “this is a cheat day” can cue the brain to perceive scarcity. And when the body believes food is scarce, it urges you to eat more, stock up, and prepare for the next famine — real or imagined.

This restrict-binge cycle is common and well-documented. Research shows that dieting is one of the strongest predictors of eating disorders. In fact, 35% of people who engage in “normal dieting” progress to pathological dieting, and up to 25% of those individuals develop a clinical eating disorder. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg — many more struggle with disordered eating that never gets formally diagnosed.

What About “Food Addiction”?

It’s understandable to feel addicted to food. But the concept of food addiction — as it’s popularly understood — doesn’t hold up to scientific scrutiny.

There’s no conclusive research showing that any specific food or nutrient is addictive in the way substances like alcohol or opioids are. Claims that sugar is “as addictive as cocaine” often cite rodent studies where animals show binge-like behaviors — but those behaviors typically occur only when the animals have limited access to sugar. When rodents have unrestricted access to both sugar and food, they don’t binge. The issue, again, is deprivation.

In human studies, so-called “food addiction” is often measured using the Yale Food Addiction Scale. But these studies rarely account for a history of dieting or restriction — which, as we’ve seen, is often the true driver of binge-like behaviors.

Physiologically and psychologically, food does not act like a drug. While it can light up the brain’s reward center — just like hugging a loved one or hearing a favorite song — food does not cause the same memory impairment, withdrawal, escalating tolerance, or high-risk behavior associated with substance use disorders. Comparing food to substances can minimize the experience of those with substance addictions, and it can send people struggling with eating to the wrong kind of treatment.

So How Do You Heal?

The antidote to feeling addicted to food isn’t restriction — it’s the opposite.

The body and brain need to learn that food is abundant and reliably available. That means giving yourself unconditional permission to eat, not just physically but mentally. This might include keeping previously “off-limits” foods in the house, eating them when you want, and letting your brain recalibrate.

This process can feel counterintuitive, even scary. But when your body trusts that food isn’t going to be taken away again, it stops sending emergency hunger signals. Over time, those intense cravings fade, and food becomes… just food.

It's also important to note that this healing process isn’t always accessible to everyone. Food insecurity and systemic inequities limit many people’s ability to practice unconditional permission around food. Healing from disordered eating requires both personal work and broader societal change.

The Bottom Line

If you feel addicted to food, you’re not broken — you’re likely responding to restriction, not a true addiction. The good news? Your body is doing exactly what it’s designed to do in the face of scarcity. And the healing process doesn’t require more control or more willpower. It requires trust, abundance, and compassion.