Put simply, food addiction is, being addicted to food in the same way as drug addicts are addicted to drugs.

• Do you feel you are eating a lot and putting on weight?
• Have you tried to stop eating too much and found you just cannot?
• Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another?
• Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?
• Do you use laxatives, or exercise a lot to avoid a weight gain after an eating binge?
• Do you find yourself snacking a lot in private or when alone?
• Have people expressed concern over your eating habits and weight gain?
• Do you eat more when you are upset or depressed?  
• Do you reward yourself with sweets and fried or rich foods every time you do something good?
• Do you frequently take food from other people’s plates?
• At a social gathering, do you find yourself thinking about the food rather than the topic under discussion or meeting other people?
• Do you eat when you're not hungry?
• Do you continue eating a meal just for the taste, even if you feel full?
• Do you discarded food or put it away, but come back and eat it later?
• Do you eat a lot and then fast or severely restrict your food intake to try to compensate?
• Do you keep food at hand for a a "midnight snack"?
• Do you keep try to balance the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten, but fail?
• Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?
• Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?
• Do you find yourself frequently thinking of food through the day?
• Do you eat till you feel sick, and then vomit?
• Do you keep craving food?

If you answer "Yes" to any of the questions above, you may be suffering from food addiction.

Food addiction manifests itself in the uncontrollable craving for excess food that follows the ingestion of refined carbohydrates, primarily sugar and flour substances that are quickly metabolized and turned into sugar in the bloodstream.

In those with food addiction, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are also activated by food, rich in sugar,  fat and salt

The reward signals from these addictive foods, override other signals of fullness and satisfaction in the brain. As a result, people keep eating, even when they're not hungry. Compulsive overeating is a type of behavioral addiction. People with food addictions lose control over their eating behavior and find themselves spending excessive amounts of time involved with food and overeating, or anticipating the emotional effects of compulsive overeating.

People who show signs of food addiction may also develop a kind of tolerance to food. They eat more and more, only to find that food satisfies them less and less.

Food addiction may play an important role in obesity. But people who are not over weight may also struggle with food addiction when young and start putting on weight later. Their bodies may simply be genetically programmed to better handle the extra calories they take in. Or they may increase their physical activity to compensate for overeating.

People who are addicted to food will continue to eat despite negative consequences, such as weight gain or damaged relationships. And like people who are addicted to drugs or gambling, people who are addicted to food will have trouble stopping their behavior, even if they want to or have tried many times to cut back.