SUGAR is often given as the excuse for overeating and piling on the pounds, but now it appears it is not addictive after all.
Researchers have found that while people may become hooked on eating for its own sake, sweet treats that contain high levels of fat or sugar are no more addictive than those that do not.
While some people may consider themselves chocoholics, the evidence suggests it is all in the mind, with compulsive eating linked to psychological causes rather than any chemical dependency or need.
The international team, which included scientists from Edinburgh and Aberdeen universities, studied the way the brain responds to nutrients in food, including sugar, and compared the results to studies using substances known to cause addiction.
According to their research, the brain does not respond to nutrients in the same way as it does to addictive drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, and does not develop chemical-based cravings or any physical compulsion for extra doses.
Instead, people can develop a psychological compulsion to eat, driven by the positive feelings that the brain associates with eating.
But the scientists said this was a behavioural disorder and could be categorised alongside conditions such as gambling addiction rather than a dependency.
While it is known that fructose, a sugar found in foods ranging from biscuits to fizzy drinks, can block the chemical in the brain that controls appetite, the study is the first to show there is nothing inherently addictive about the food people like to eat.
Dr John Menzies, research fellow in the Edinburgh University's Centre For Integrative Physiology, said: "People try to find rational explanations for being over-weight and it is easy to blame food.
"Certain individuals do have an addictive-like relationship with particular foods and they can over-eat despite knowing the risks to their health.
"More avenues for treatment may open up if we think about this condition as a behavioural addiction rather than a substance-based addiction."
The research is likely to have an impact on health studies in Scotland, where nutritionists have long warned of rising levels of obesity.
The Edinburgh team said its research showed the focus on tackling the problems associated with overeating should be moved from food itself towards the individual's relationship with eating.
Professor Suzanne Dickson, of Gothenburg University and co-ordinator of the NeuroFast project, added: "There has been a major debate over whether sugar is addictive.
"There is very little evidence to support the idea any ingredient, food item, additive or combination of ingredients has addictive properties."
She added the current classification of mental disorders should now be redrawn to include a formal diagnosis of eating addiction, although more research would be needed to define a diagnosis.
As well as in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Gothenburg, the work was carried at the Essen and Utrecht universities, in Germany and Holland, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The researchers are involved in the NeuroFast consortium, which is an European Union-funded project studying the neurobiology of eating behaviour, addiction and stress.
The study, which examined the scientific evidence for food addiction as a substance-based addiction, is published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article