Introduction A growing body of empirical and experiential evidence indicates that certain individuals can develop maladaptive patterns of consuming behaviors and substances that are essential for survival, including food and sex [1 ]. This paper will review current, and proposed, definitions of substance use disorders, recent advances in our understanding of the physiology of addiction and food consumption, newly published evidence of food addiction, freshly developed tools to better

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... e pathological appetitive behaviors, and pharmacological treatments for obesity currently under development.