ReviewObesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity2022
Withdrawal: A key consideration in evaluating whether highly processed foods are addictive.
Review in Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between ultraprocessed foods consumption, eating disorders, food addiction and body image: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Dysregulated eating behaviour and microbiota-based interventions targeting eating disorders and food addiction.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Rapid Metabolic and Behavioral Maladaptations Following Short-Term Obesogenic Diet Withdrawal During Postweaning Development in Male Wistar Rats.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Childhood traumatic experiences and addiction-like eating behaviors: the mediating roles of attachment, mentalization, and emotional eating.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- The Path from Childhood Emotional Maltreatment to Disordered Eating Behaviors: The Role of Reflective Functioning and Food Addiction.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Tying Food Addiction to Uncontrolled Eating: The Roles of Eating-Related Thoughts and Emotional Eating.Nutrients · 2025Article
- The battle over "food addiction".Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Binge-type eating disorders and ultra-processed food addiction: phenomenology, pathophysiology and treatment implications.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Ultra-processed food addiction symptoms profile according to weight status among Brazilian adults.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Food Addiction.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Article
- Using latent class analysis to identify different clinical profiles according to food addiction symptoms in obesity with and without binge eating disorder.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2024Article
- Nutrition and Mental Well-Being: Exploring Connections and Holistic Approaches.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- No association of the dopamine D2 receptor genetic bilocus score (rs1800497/rs1799732) on food addiction and food reinforcement in Chilean adults.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Article
- Withdrawal: A key consideration in evaluating whether highly processed foods are addictive.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Researchers are currently debating whether theories of addiction explain compulsive overeating of highly processed (HP) foods (i.e., industrially created foods high in refined carbohydrates and/or fat), which contributes to obesity and diet-related disease. A subset of individuals consumes HP foods with behavioral phenotypes that mirror substance use disorders. Withdrawal, the emergence of aversive physical and psychological symptoms upon reduction or cessation of substance use, is a core component of addiction that was central to historical debates about other substances' addictive potential (e.g., nicotine and cocaine). However, no one has systematically considered evidence for whether HP foods cause withdrawal, which represents a key knowledge gap regarding the utility of addiction models for understanding compulsive overeating. Thus, we reviewed evidence for whether animals and humans exhibit withdrawal when reducing or eliminating HP food intake. Controlled experimental evidence indicates animals experience HP food withdrawal marked by neural reward changes and behaviors consistent with withdrawal from other addictive substances. In humans, preliminary evidence supports subjective withdrawal-like experiences. However, most current human research is limited to retrospective recall. Further experimental research is needed to evaluate this construct. We outline future research directions to investigate HP food withdrawal in humans and consider potential clinical implications.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.