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Obesity and the brain: how convincing is the addiction model?

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 13, pages 279–286 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

An increasingly influential perspective conceptualizes both obesity and overeating as a food addiction accompanied by corresponding brain changes. Because there are far-reaching implications for clinical practice and social policy if it becomes widely accepted, a critical evaluation of this model is important. We examine the current evidence for the link between addiction and obesity, identifying several fundamental shortcomings in the model, as well as weaknesses and inconsistencies in the empirical support for it from human neuroscientific research.

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Figure 1: Mediators of energy balance and body weight.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank B. Everitt for his comments, particularly on Box 2. H.Z. is jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and GlaxoSmithKline. I.S.F. and P.C.F. are supported by the Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund. H.Z., I.S.F. and P.C.F. are also supported by the Wellcome Trust, MRC (Medical Research Council) Centre for Obesity and Related Diseases, and the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. This work was carried out at the Institute of Metabolic Science and the Wellcome–MRC-funded Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. It was inspired by discussions with fellow members of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit.

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  1. Hisham Ziauddeen and Paul C. Fletcher are in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Building, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK; and at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB21 5EF, UK.,

    Hisham Ziauddeen & Paul C. Fletcher

  2. and at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB21 5EF, UK.,

    Hisham Ziauddeen & Paul C. Fletcher

  3. Hisham Ziauddeen and I. Sadaf Farooqi are at the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.,

    Hisham Ziauddeen & I. Sadaf Farooqi

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Correspondence to Paul C. Fletcher.

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H.Z. is supported by a GlaxoSmithKline–Wellcome translational medicine Ph.D. studentship. P.C.F. has recieved consultancy fees from GlaxoSmithKline.

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Ziauddeen, H., Farooqi, I. & Fletcher, P. Obesity and the brain: how convincing is the addiction model?. Nat Rev Neurosci 13, 279–286 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3212

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