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A new study suggests that junk food enthusiasts who try to reduce their consumption of French fries or chocolate may experience symptoms similar to those of drug withdrawal.
The researchers found that people trying to reduce their consumption of highly processed foods exhibit some of the same physical and psychological symptoms – such as mood swings, cravings, anxiety, headaches and lack of sleep – according to the study. , published online September 15 in the magazine Appetite.
The new study offers the first evidence that these withdrawal-like symptoms can occur when people reduce highly processed foods, said the study's lead author, Erica Schulte, PhD candidate in psychology at the University of Toronto. University of Michigan. [11 Ways Processed Food Is Different from Real Food]
Based on the self-reported symptoms of the participants, withdrawal symptoms were more intense between the second and fifth day after attempting to reduce junk food consumption.
The idea that food can be addictive after "intensive" use by some people is a controversial subject, Schulte said. Although previous animal and human studies have shown some biological and behavioral similarities between substance use disorders and the consumption of high-dependence addictive substances, no studies have sought to whether reducing junk food could trigger withdrawal symptoms.
Addictive potential of junk food
In the study, the researchers developed a new tool modeled after weaning scales used to assess symptoms that occur after people stop smoking or stop using marijuana. This modified questionnaire has been distributed to more than 200 adults who have been on a diet in the past year trying to reduce junk food.
The results showed that the symptoms people experience when weaning tobacco or marijuana can also be relevant to eliminating highly processed foods from the diet, Schulte said. Withdrawal is a key feature of addiction and shows that this can also happen when reducing junk food consumption further supports the assumption that highly processed foods can be addictive, she added.
Indeed, the new study fulfills an important missing piece in [the] research on food addiction, "said Nicole Avena, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, who was not involved in the new study, measuring the withdrawal symptoms associated with food at humans, and the new tool used in the study provides a valuable measure that can be helpful in better understanding the addictive nature of highly processed foods, "said Avena, who has done research on food addiction.
More and more research suggests that the foods we eat, which are often highly processed and contain excessive amounts of sugar, could cause changes in the brain similar to drug addictions, such as alcohol and tobacco. . The new study adds to the growing literature that suggests that highly processed foods can produce dependence-like responses in humans.
In practice, by raising awareness of the fact that people may experience irritability or headaches when they reduce their junk food consumption, they can prepare strategies for coping with the condition. advance, noted Schulte. The results can also shed light on the barriers people face when they change their eating habits – barriers that may play a role in people leaving treatment, she said. [10 Ways to Promote Kids’ Healthy Eating Habits]
One of the limitations of the study was that it asked participants to remember their withdrawal symptoms, but a next step would be to measure these effects in real time, as people were actually reducing their junk food consumption, Schulte said.
In addition, researchers did not measure the severity of withdrawal symptoms compared to withdrawal symptoms, nor the methods used by individuals to change their eating habits, such as cold turkey consumption or the gradual elimination of foods. .
Originally published on Science live.
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