You’ve probably heard friends or family members talking about how “addicted” they are to sweets, chips or pizza. New research suggests they may not be exaggerating.
A study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai identified the most and least addictive foods we eat. To rank them, researchers asked participants how often they’ve eaten a food item to the point that it made them feel physically ill. Those foods people ate in excess earned a higher score than others.
Pizza had the highest ranking, with chocolate and chips falling closely behind. On the other end of the scale, cucumbers are considered least addictive. It seems the more processed the food, the more likely it is to rate high on the addiction scale. Researchers are looking for ways to use this data to fight obesity.
Their best advice? Know which foods are problematic for you and avoid them when possible. Don’t keep chips in your house and say “no thanks” after one slice of pizza.
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