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Now is the time to recognize and respond to addiction to ultra-processed foods

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The idea that certain ultra-processed foods — such as candy, cookies, and chips — can be addictive is receiving increasing attention in the USA and elsewhere. During the past two years, Congressional hearings have addressed the role of addictive ultra-processed foods in escalating rates of childhood chronic diseases. In December 2024, a lawsuit was filed in Philadelphia, accusing 11 ultra-processed-food companies of designing addictive food products and aggressively marketing them toward children.

Reflecting the growing consensus that addiction science could inform food policy, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced a new initiative modeled on the successful Tobacco Regulatory Science Program, which will unite both agencies’ expertise to “transform nutrition and food-related research”. That certain foods can trigger addictive behavior consistent with substance-use disorders (SUDs) is accepted by many addiction scientists and supported by evidence of neurobiological overlap with the brain circuits and molecular targets implicated in ‘classical’ drug addictions1. Yet addiction to ultra-processed food is not formally recognized by medical classification systems, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)2 and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This is an oversight with major consequences for public health.

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Change history

  • 17 September 2025

    In the version of the article initially published, ref. 4 was incorrect and has now been amended to “Praxedes, D. R. S. et al. Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev. 30, 85–95 (2021).” in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Drexel University Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Erica M. LaFata

  2. Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Alyssa J. Moran

  3. Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Nora D. Volkow

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Ashley N. Gearhardt

Authors
  1. Erica M. LaFata
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  2. Alyssa J. Moran
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  3. Nora D. Volkow
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  4. Ashley N. Gearhardt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erica M. LaFata.

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Competing interests

A.J.M. has served as a food policy consultant for nonprofit public-health organizations and government agencies. A.N.G. has served as a consultant for nonprofit public-health organizations and public-interest law firms focused on diet-related disease and food policy. That work is unrelated to the content of this article. Support for A.N.G.’s time was provided in part by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA055027); the content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health.

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LaFata, E.M., Moran, A.J., Volkow, N.D. et al. Now is the time to recognize and respond to addiction to ultra-processed foods. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03858-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03858-6

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