Psychiatry

Psychopathology

Internal medicine

Psychology

Eating disorders

Bulimia nervosa

Binge-eating disorder

Food addiction

Overeating

Overweight

Binge eating

Optimal distinctiveness theory

Addiction

Obesity

Psychotherapist

Clinical psychology

Medicine

Appetite

This commentary discusses the evidence linking patterns of compulsive overeating, such as binge eating and grazing, with a putative psychopathological condition known commonly as ‘food addiction’. It also addresses their distinctiveness as independent – albeit overlapping – clinical entities. Discussions focus largely on their respective clinical features and neuropsychobiological associations. Despite semantic issues about the appropriateness of the food-addiction label, there is accumulating evidence that some vulnerable individuals display addictive symptoms in relation to their consumption of certain highly rewarding foods. It is also argued in this paper that despite a positive relationship between obesity and addictive tendencies towards food, it is over-inclusive to model obesity as an addiction disorder, especially given the multi-faceted etiology and current pervasiveness of weight gain worldwide.

A commentary on the associations among ‘food addiction’, binge eating disorder, and obesity: Overlapping conditions with idiosyncratic clinical features