Food addiction is not officially included as a recognized diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). However, it generally encompasses binge eating behaviors, such as food cravings, inability to control yourself around food, and repeated failed attempts to stop.

1. Frequent Food Cravings

Cravings and hunger are two different things. Hunger is the absence of fullness or having an empty stomach. Cravings are when you have an intense desire to eat a certain food. They may occur even when you aren’t hungry or have just eaten.

Eating any food can relieve hunger, while cravings are usually only satisfied by eating a certain, desired food. For example, you crave cookies despite having eaten a complete, filling meal.

Cravings may be conditioned, meaning you crave a certain food or type of food after experiencing a particular event—such as finishing dinner, smelling something baking, or seeing an advertisement for food.

While food cravings are not uncommon, when they occur frequently and are hard to ignore or satisfy, they may suggest something more.

2. Eating When No Longer Hungry

Eating past the point of fullness happens to most people on occasion, such as on holidays, vacations, or special occasions. However, with food addiction, this happens more than occasionally. 

In food addiction, eating much more than intended is common with foods that are highly processed, including those high in saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium.

Just as someone with a substance use disorder may have decreased control over addictive substances, people with food addiction may lack the instinct to stop eating when full.

3. Eating to the Point of Feeling Sick

Eating too much too quickly or simply eating a lot of food over time can lead to you feeling sick, bloated, and nauseated.

Food addiction may lead to overeating, even knowing that it will get to the point of an overfull belly and other feelings of being unwell. As long as their craving for food is active, a person may be unable to stop eating before getting sick.

4. Eating to Increase Pleasure or Reduce Negative Feelings

Food addiction cravings are not about a need to quell hunger or to get needed nutrients, but rather it’s often the brain’s cry for a dopamine release. Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone and a chemical in the brain that is involved in reward-seeking and pleasure.

Research suggests that many individuals with depression may also have food addiction. Eating highly palatable food can release dopamine, increase pleasure, and reduce negative feelings (at least temporarily).

Not eating the desired or craved food may promote depressive or anxious feelings to develop. Thus, the craving for a mood booster via food follows, and a vicious cycle unfolds.

5. Feeling Guilty

People with food addiction may feel guilty about their behavior surrounding food, including their giving in to cravings, excessive consumption of foods, and the inability to stop when full. Despite feeling guilty or wrong, the behavior or pattern is repeated soon after the last incident.

6. Hiding Food Intake

Feelings of shame or guilt around eating may lead someone with food addiction to eat in secret or hide their food intake. Eating in secret or when alone may only worsen overeating and food addiction and can also lead to social isolation.

7. Experience Withdrawal Symptoms

As a consequence of chronic overconsumption, individuals with food addiction tend to build up a tolerance to overeating. Over time, they require a larger amount of food to achieve the same feeling. When they finally cut back, they may experience withdrawal symptoms, similar to substance use disorder.

This may include physical, mental, emotional, and/or behavioral symptoms. Eating to avoid potential withdrawal symptoms is common and prolongs the food addiction.

8. Failure to Quit

Despite previous attempts to stop overeating and giving in to food cravings, people with food addiction tend to continuously fail to do so. This is all despite the problems overeating and craving food may be causing, such as social isolation, mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and physical health problems like obesity and fatigue.

Even individuals who have undergone weight loss treatment such as bariatric surgery (a weight loss surgery that changes the structure of the digestive tract) often fail to lose weight or gain weight after intervention due to continued snacking and poor food choices—suggesting overeating cannot be solved by weight loss intervention alone.

Despite the negative consequences of weight gain (or regain) and increasing risk of health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, individuals with food addiction often fail to quit their overeating habits.

What Is a Food Addiction?

Food addiction is not recognized as a diagnosis in the DSM-5, however, it is thought to be similar to substance use disorders. Highly palatable foods and drugs of abuse may cause comparable patterns of brain activation. This leads to similar behavioral outcomes, such as cravings, continued use despite negative health consequences, and decreased ability to regulate consumption.

Risk factors for food addiction include:

Steps to Overcoming Food Addiction

Although there is no easy solution, below are some tips to help overcome food addiction. Keep in mind that while one strategy to overcome food addiction may work for some, it may not be right for everyone.

It may take some trial and error to find what works for you, including:

• Keep a record of food cravings, including the food(s) you craved, how long the craving lasted, and how you addressed the craving.
• Identify foods that cause cravings and avoid these trigger foods.
• Avoid certain people, situations, or places that encourage overeating or increase cravings.
• Find restaurants that have healthier or “safe” options available.
• Have healthy foods available at home.
• Try to become more aware of internal hunger and fullness cues.
• Plan your meals and snacks.
• Practice mindful eating (focusing on your eating experience without distractions or judgment).
• Have distractions ready or in mind when a craving hits.

Food Addiction vs. Binge Eating Disorder

There may be overlap in some eating disorders and food addiction. In the DSM-5, binge eating disorder (BED) is classified as:

• Binge eating while not being hungry
• Eating too fast until feeling uncomfortably full 
• Eating in solitude with feelings of shame and disgust after eating, without compensatory mechanisms

Binge eating is often associated with emotional or environmental issues, such as poor self-esteem or body image.

Food addiction (FA) is characterized by:

• Overconsumption of food
• Food cravings
• Failure to cut down on amounts of food 
• Withdrawal symptoms
• Tolerance to overeating

It is thought that food addiction is caused by a change in brain chemistry, leading to the brain’s need or desire for more dopamine, or increase in “rewards.”

Professional Treatment Options 

It may be too difficult to overcome food addiction on your own. Professional resources and options are available. 

Consider reaching out to a psychiatrist or psychologist with experience in treating people with food addiction can help, as can meeting with a registered dietitian who specializes in eating disorders. Working with a team of qualified healthcare professionals can make all the difference during treatment and recovery.

If you would rather opt for group support, organizations such as Overeaters Anonymous (OA) or Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) offer free membership.

Summary

Food addiction is considered a behavioral addiction, with signs such as intense and frequent food cravings, eating when not hungry, eating to the point of being sick, eating to reduce negative feelings or to increase pleasure, experiencing guilt around food overconsumption, hiding food intake, experiencing withdrawal symptoms when cutting back or stopping, and failure to quit despite negative consequences.

Though they may overlap in some areas, food addiction and binge eating disorder are not the same thing. Binge eating is thought to be related to more emotional and psychological causes rather than changes in brain chemistry and its reward center. 

Tips to help overcome food addiction include identifying and avoiding triggers and planning meals and snacks. Working with healthcare professionals or support groups can help aid you in overcoming food addiction.