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Genetic Similarities between Compulsive Overeating and Addiction Phenotypes: A Case for “Food Addiction”?

  • Genetic Disorders (W Berrettini, Section Editor)
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Abstract

There exists a continuous spectrum of overeating, where at the extremes there are casual overindulgences and at the other a ‘pathological’ drive to consume palatable foods. It has been proposed that pathological eating behaviors may be the result of addictive appetitive behavior and loss of ability to regulate the consumption of highly processed foods containing refined carbohydrates, fats, salt, and caffeine. In this review, we highlight the genetic similarities underlying substance addiction phenotypes and overeating compulsions seen in individuals with binge eating disorder. We relate these similarities to findings from neuroimaging studies on reward processing and clinical diagnostic criteria based on addiction phenotypes. The abundance of similarities between compulsive overeating and substance addictions puts forth a case for a ‘food addiction’ phenotype as a valid, diagnosable disorder.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Pharmacogenetics Research Clinic, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T1R8, Canada

      Nina Carlier, Victoria S. Marshe & Daniel J. Müller

    2. Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

      Victoria S. Marshe

    3. Undergraduate Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

      Jana Cmorejova

    4. Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

      Jana Cmorejova

    5. School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

      Caroline Davis

    6. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

      Daniel J. Müller

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    1. Nina Carlier
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    2. Victoria S. Marshe
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    3. Jana Cmorejova
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    4. Caroline Davis
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    5. Daniel J. Müller
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    Correspondence to Daniel J. Müller.

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    Nina Carlier, Victoria S. Marshe, Jana Cmorejova, Caroline Davis, and Daniel J. Müller declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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    This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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    This article is part of the Topical Collection on Genetic Disorders

    Nina Carlier and Victoria S. Marshe contributed equally to this work.

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    Carlier, N., Marshe, V.S., Cmorejova, J. et al. Genetic Similarities between Compulsive Overeating and Addiction Phenotypes: A Case for “Food Addiction”?. Curr Psychiatry Rep 17, 96 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0634-5

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0634-5

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