Adams (2015) [41] | Animal | Male Long-Evans rats | 16/8 | Restricted, equicaloric high-fat/low-sugar vs. low-fat/high-sugar diets | Impulsivity and attention, measured by the five-choice serial reaction time task; dopamine signaling in the dorsal and ventral striatum; insulin and leptin levels in the plasma |
Burmeister (2013) [62] | Cross-sectional | Adults with obesity in a behavioral weight-loss program Female: 68.4% Age: 47.4 years BMI: 38.2 kg/m2 Caucasian: 84.2% | 57/0 | Food addiction symptoms (YFAS continuous) | 7-week weight change; measures of psychological distress, disordered eating, weight bias, and weight-focused attitudes |
Cambridge (2013) [40] | Double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group study | Adults with obesity and moderate binge eating Female: 53.3% Age: 40.2 years | 16/14 | Mu-opioid receptor antagonist (GSK1521498) or placebo | Brain responses to food images (FMRI and behavioral measures); motivation to expend energy to view comparable images |
Colantuoni (2001) [47] | Animal | Female Sprague-Dawley rats | 10/5 | “Intermittent excessive sugar intake” (25% glucose solution with chow for 12 h followed by 12 h of food deprivation each day) | Receptor binding (e.g., dopamine, opioid) |
Cornelis (2016) [69] | Genome-wide association study | Women of European ancestry participating in the Nurses’ Health Study Age: 25–55 years at start | 9314/0 | Food addiction (mYFAS) | Enrichment of SNPs, genes, and pathways implicated in drug addiction |
Daubenmier (2014) [53] | Cross-sectional | Women in a waitlist control for a randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness intervention for stress eating Age: 40.9 years BMI: 31.1 kg/m2 | 16/17 | Naltrexone-induced nausea and cortisol levels (measure of central opioidergic activity) | Indices of hedonic-related eating behaviors (binge, emotional, external, or restrained eating); intake of sweets/desserts, carbohydrates; interoceptive awareness; adiposity; weight change |
Davis (2011) [39] | Cross-sectional | Adults with obesity Female: 68.1% Age: 33.6 years BMI: 38.5 kg/m2 Caucasian: 81.4% | 18/54 | Food addiction (YFAS dichotomous) | Clinical co-morbidities (e.g., binge eating disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), psychological risk factors (e.g., impulsivity), and abnormal motivation for the addictive substance |
Davis (2013) [49] | Case-control | Adults recruited for study on overeating/overweight Female: 68.3% Age: 25–47 years | 21/99 | Composite index of elevated dopamine signaling (a multi-locus genetic profile score) | Food addiction (YFAS dichotomous); eating-related sub-phenotypes of food addiction (e.g., binging) |
Davis (2014) [50] | Three-way mixed model, double-blind cross-over | Adults, predominately overweight/obese Female: 67.7% Age: 32.7 years BMI: 33.9 kg/m2 | 23/113 | Food addiction (YFAS dichotomous); psychomotor stimulant (methylphenidate) vs. placebo | Appetite, cravings, and consumption of favorite snack |
De Ridder (2016) [58] | Cross-sectional | Adults Female: 79.3% Age: 45.1 years BMI: 33.2 kg/m2 | 38/34 | Weight category (normal vs. obese BMI); food addiction (YFAS continuous) | EEG; hunger; behavioral inhibition; eating style; binge eating; food awareness |
Duarte (2014) [54] | Animal | Marmoset monkeys Female: 50% | 6/8 | 15 min exposure to 50 g chocolate | Conditioned-place-preference |
Feldstein Ewing (2017) [59] | Cross-sectional | Youth, overweight/obese Male: 83.3% Age: 16.5 years BMI: 33.1 kg/m2 Hispanic: 79% | 24/0 | Beverage type (sweetened soft drink vs. water); food addiction (YFAS continuous); BMI; insulin resistance | Urge to eat; FMRI response patterns (BOLD activation) |
Fowler (2014) [70] | Secondary data analyses | Adults, 2.7 years post-bariatric surgery Female: 88.4% Age: 48.7 years BMI: 32.3 kg/m2 Caucasian: 94.2% | 154/0 | Pre-surgical problems with high-sugar/low-fat foods and foods with a high glycemic index | Risk for new onset substance use disorder post-surgery |
Franken (2016) [60] | Cross-sectional | Students recruited for larger YFAS study Age: 20.4 years BMI: 21.7 kg/m2 | 34/34 | Food addiction (YFAS continuous) | Cognitive control (error monitoring) via Eriksen flanker task and EEG (ERN, Pe) |
Furlong (2014) [42] study 1 | Animal | Male Long-Evans rats | 24/12 | Continuous vs. restricted access to sweetened condensed milk (3:1 ratio of Nestle to water) | Goal-directed performance and neuronal activity in corticostriatal circuits |
Furlong (2014) [42] study 2 | Animal | Male Long-Evans rats | 8/10 | AMPA-receptor and dopamine D1-receptor antagonists | Habitual performance following restricted access to a highly palatable food |
Gearhardt (2011) [12] | Cross-sectional | Young women Age: 20.8 years BMI: 28.0 kg/m2 | 39/0 | Food addiction symptoms (YFAS continuous) | FMRI patterns of neural activation similar to substance dependence (in response to actual and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake) |
Imperatori (2015) [57] | Cross-sectional | Adults with overweight or obesity admitted to a medical center for obesity treatment Female: 78.6% Age: 43.6 years BMI: 28.5 kg/m2 | 14/14 | Food addiction symptoms (I-YFAS continuous and dichotomous); taste of chocolate milkshake | EEG modifications and connectivity |
Johnson (2010) [48] study 1 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | 22/9 | Restricted vs. extended access to “cafeteria style” diet (e.g., bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting) | Brain stimulation reward threshold; body weight change; caloric intake; type of food consumed (cafeteria vs. chow) |
Johnson (2010) [48] study 2 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | Not reported | Restricted vs. extended access to cafeteria style diet; body weight; knockdown of striatal dopamine D2 receptor | Reward hyposensitivity (measured by striatal D2 receptor density); brain stimulation reward threshold; body weight change; caloric intake; type of food consumed (cafeteria vs. chow) |
Johnson (2010) [48] study 3 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | Not reported | Restricted vs. extended access to cafeteria style diet followed by intermittent access (30 min) to cafeteria food; environmental stimulus (light) predicting adversity (foot shock) | Brain stimulation reward threshold; body weight change; caloric intake; type of food consumed (cafeteria vs. chow); compulsive-like eating behavior |
Johnson (2010) [48] study 4 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | Not reported | Restricted vs. extended access to cafeteria style diet; knockdown of striatal dopamine D2 receptor; environmental stimulus (light) predicting foot shock | Brain stimulation reward threshold; caloric intake; type of food consumed (cafeteria vs. chow); compulsive-like eating behavior |
Konkolÿ Thege (2015) [5] | Longitudinal study | Adults Female: 54.7% Age: 46.1 years | 4121/0 | Over-involvement (causing significant problems) in one of six excessive behaviors (including eating) | Prevalence, substance use comorbidity, five-year trajectory |
Le Merrer (2006) [51] studies 1 & 2 | Animal | Male mice | 20/10 | Sweetened pellets while hungry vs. while satiated | Behavioral sensitization (assessed by locomotor activity in sweetened-pellet-paired environment) |
Le Merrer (2006) [51] study 3 | Animal | Male mice | 9-10/0 | Dopaminergic agonists (SCH23390, sulpiride) | Pellet-induced conditioned activity |
Le Merrer (2006) [51] study 4 | Animal | Male mice | 20/0 | Opiate (naltrexone) and AMPA (GYKI 52466) receptor antagonists | Pellet-induced conditioned activity |
Le Merrer (2006) [51] study 5 | Animal | Male mice | 20/0 | Cocaine or morphine; pretreatment of GYKI 52466, naltrexone, or SCH23390 | Cross-sensitization (pellet-induced conditioned activity following cocaine or morphine injection) |
Le Merrer (2006) [51] study 6 | Animal | Male mice | 7–9/0 | Sweetened-pellet-conditioned environment | Consumption of sweetened pellets; locomotor activity |
Lenoir (2007) [43] | Animal | Young male Wistar rats | 132/0 | Mutually exclusive choice between sweetened water and intravenous cocaine; history of cocaine preference | Preferred substance (saccharin, sugar, or cocaine) |
Lent (2012) [63] | Cross-sectional | Adult bariatric surgery candidates Female: 85.6% Age: 41.0 years BMI: 45.2 kg/m2 Caucasian: 67.0% | 97/0 | Addictive personality (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Addiction Scale) | Maladaptive eating behaviors (Overeating Questionnaire; binge-eating questions from Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns; Eating Attitudes and Behaviors Questionnaire) |
Mangabeira (2015) [65] | Animal | Male Wistar rats | 14/14 | Withdrawal from prolonged sugar consumption | Impulsivity (assessed by differential reinforcement of low rate performance) |
Markus (2017) [44] | Cross-Sectional | Undergraduates Female: 69.9% Age: 21.6 years | 1495/0 | Food addiction (YFAS dichotomous, continuous} | Depressive symptoms; BMI; YFAS; “problem foods” (high-fat savory, high-fat sweet, low-fat sugary, low-fat savory) |
Mary Brown (2015) [55] | Animal | Male Sprague-Dawley rats | Not reported | Propensity to diet-induced obesity | Addictive-like behavior (i.e., heightened motivation; excessive intake; increased food seeking); synaptic impairments in NAc |
McGee (2010) [68] | Animal | Male Long–Evans rats | 16/8 | Withdrawal from intermittent access to a sweet fat mixture | Motivation (operant performance for sucrose on progressive ratio schedule); craving (lever pressing for palatable food); anxiety (elevated plus maze) |
Merlo (2009) [18] | Cross-sectional | Children Female: 64% Age: 13.8 years BMI: 35.6 kg/m2 Caucasian: 60%
Parent/guardian Female: 87% Age: 43.2 years BMI: 33.0 kg/m2 | 50/0 children and their parent/guardian | BMI; Food addiction symptoms (Eating Behaviors Questionnaire) | Food- and eating-related attitudes and behaviors |
Newman (2013) [52] | Animal | Male Sprague-Dawley rats | 10/11 | Bouts of sweetened-fat intake (shortening with 10% sucrose); predator stress; intra-NAc shell infusions of either d-amphetamine or opioid agonist DAMGO; GABA agonist, muscimol | Neuroadaptations in NAc shell GABA systems |
Pérez-Ortiz (2016) [56] | Animal | C57BL/6J male mice Age: 4 weeks | 20/20 | High fat diet followed by 12 h food deprivation | Palatable food seeking; expression of potential addiction biomarkers in the NAc: fumarate hydratase (FH), ATP synthase subunit alpha (ATP5a1) and transketolase (TKT) |
Pickering (2009) [66] study 1 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | 12/0 | Sugar content of pellets (50% vs. 95%) | Sugar consumption |
Pickering (2009) [66] study 2 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | 9/3 | High-fat high-sugar diet (lard, sucrose) | Caloric intake; body weight change |
Pickering (2009) [66] study 3 | Animal | Male Wistar rats | 16/8 | High-fat high-sugar diet (lard, sucrose); vulnerability for weight gain; withdrawal from lard and sucrose diet | Caloric intake; body weight change; motivation for sugar; anxiety-like behavior (open-field test) |
Schulte (2015) [13] study 1 | Cross-sectional | Undergraduates Female: 67.5% Age: 19.3 years BMI: 23.0 kg/m2 Caucasian: 72.5% | 120/0 | Food items (e.g., chocolate, broccoli) and types (e.g., processed) | Food addiction symptoms (YFAS) |
Schulte (2015) [13] study 2 | Cross-sectional | Adults Male: 59.4% Age: 31.1 years BMI: 27.0 kg/m2 Caucasian: 76.8% | 384/0 | Food characteristics (e.g., proportions of fats, carbohydrates; level of processing) | Self-reported problematic eating behavior |
Sharma (2013) [46] study 1 | Animal | Male mice Age: 6–7 weeks | 12 (treated + control) | High fat diet (58% kcal from fat: including hydrogenated coconut oil, maltodextrin, sucrose, casein) vs. ingredient-matched low fat diet (10.5% kcal from fat); withdrawal from diet | Motivation for sucrose or high-fat reward; caloric intake; body weight change |
Sharma (2013) [46] study 2 | Animal | Male mice Age: 6–7 weeks | 30 (treated + control) | High fat diet vs. low fat diet (10.5% kcal from fat); withdrawal from diet | Anxiety-like behavior (elevated plus maze); plasma corticosterone |
Sharma (2013) [46] study 3 | Animal | Male mice Age: 6–7 weeks | 48 (treated + control) | High fat diet vs. low fat diet (10.5% kcal from fat); withdrawal from diet | Basal corticosterone; protein levels for tyrosine hydroxylase, corticosterone releasing factor type 1 receptor, BDNF, phospho-CREB and ΔFosB in amygdala, NAc and ventral tegmental area via western immunoblotting |
Spring (2008) [64] | Double-blind within and between subjects cross-over | Women who are overweight or obese Age: 28.0 years BMI: 27.6 kg/m2 Caucasian: 50.8% | 61/0 | Negative mood; consumption of carbohydrate-rich beverage | Mood; drink preference (carbohydrate-rich vs. macronutrient-balanced) during negative mood state |
Tuomisto (1999) [61] study 1 | Case-control | Women Age: 35.4 years BMI: 26.7 kg/m2 | 16/15 | Self-identified “chocolate addiction”; type of exposure to chocolate (look, smell, or taste) | Psychological symptoms (e.g., depression, disinhibition, disordered eating) measured by questionnaires; self-reported reactivity to cues (e.g., anxiety, calmness); salivation, heart rate |
Tuomisto (1999) [61] study 2 | Case-control | Women Age: 35.4 years BMI: 26.7 kg/m2 | 16/15 | Self-identified “chocolate addiction”; type of exposure to chocolate (look or smell) | Amount of chocolate consumed; psychological symptoms (e.g., depression, disinhibition, disordered eating) measured by questionnaires; self-reported reactivity to cues (e.g., anxiety, calmness); salivation, heart rate |
Yakovenko (2011) [67] study 1 | Animal | Occidental low- and high-saccharin-consuming rats (LoS and HiS, respectively) Age: 60–90 days | 13–15/0 | Line of ingestive phenotype (LoS vs. HiS); periodic access to glucose solution followed by 24 h food withdrawal | Withdrawal symptoms (acoustic startle); glucose consumption |
Yakovenko (2011) [67] study 2 | Animal | LoS and HiS rats Age: 60–90 days | 8/0 | Line of ingestive phenotype (LoS vs. HiS); periodic access to glucose solution followed by 24 h food withdrawal; naloxone | Withdrawal symptoms (e.g., startle behavior); glucose consumption |
Yakovenko (2011) [67] study 3 | Animal | LoS and HiS rats Age: 60–90 days | 8/0 | Binge-like feeding of cookies and shortening | Cookie, shortening, and ethanol consumption |