Over the last decade or so, research has revealed a clear pattern: People tend to overeat ultraprocessed foods. This could be one reason they’re linked with weight gain and obesity.
What isn’t clear is why we are so prone to overeating them.
Dr. Robert Califf, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, offered one hypothesis at a Senate hearing in December: “These foods are probably addictive,” he said, adding that they may act on the same brain pathways involved with addiction to opioids and other drugs.
As recently as eight years ago, such a concept was highly controversial, said Ashley Gearhardt, an addiction researcher at the University of Michigan. She described being heckled onstage at a scientific conference in 2017 for suggesting that some ultraprocessed foods may act as addictive substances. Now, she said, more researchers have started coming around to the idea.
But a major question remains: How do you prove it?
A study published Tuesday, the largest of its kind, took a big swing at this conundrum. But its results raised more questions than answers. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — so far.
Read the full article on The New York Times.
