Can highly processed foods be addictive? A new University of Michigan and Virginia Tech analysis took the criteria used in a 1988 U.S. Surgeon General’s report that established that tobacco was addictive and applied it to food. The addictive potential for food such as potato chips, cookies, ice cream, and french fries may be a key factor contributing to the high public health costs associated with a food environment dominated by cheap, accessible, and heavily marketed highly processed foods, the researchers found.
