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"I hear the word &amp;quot;addicted&amp;quot; thrown around quite often in relation to food. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m addicted to cupcakes&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m addicted to peanut butter&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m addicted to cheese&amp;quot;\u2026I know I&amp;#039;ve used this word at some point in casual conversation to describe my affection for a certain food. But the idea of whether someone can really be addicted to food physiologically (or if it&amp;#039;s just a matter of willpower) has been controversial. A new study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests that food addiction is real and not just a behavioral problem\u2026 Yale researchers tested 40 women, ranging in body type from lean to obese in two parts: 1. The Yale Food Addiction Scale (a self-reported test on eating habits). 2. MRIs while viewing pictures of both a chocolate milkshake and plain water and during consumption of both of these beverages. They found that women with higher food-addiction scores showed more activity in the parts of the brain associated with general addiction (to things like drugs and alcohol) when exposed to pictures of the chocolate milkshakes. Interestingly, the same women exhibited less brain activity when they actually tasted the shake. Experts think this could be a matter of heightened expectations. You think it&amp;#039;s going to be the most delicious shake ever but then it doesn&amp;#039;t live up to what you imagined when you actually taste it, which could then fuel more eating.  What do you think about this study? Have you battled food addiction? \u2013 Abby Cuffey, Associate Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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