It's easy to claim we're "addicted" to foods like the donuts from down the street or our beloved Thai takeout. But while the concept of food addiction is controversial among researchers, there is growing evidence that highly-processed, fatty, sugary foods like pizza, chocolate, chips and cookies as uniquely problematic foods in people's lives.

　　我们很容易说吃什么东西“上瘾”，比如街那头的甜甜圈，或者大爱的泰式外卖。尽管研究人员们对“食物成瘾”的概念尚存争论，但越来越多的证据表明，深度加工、富含脂肪和糖类的食物——如披萨、巧克力、薯条和饼干——在人们的生活中属于特别“有问题的”食品。

　　In the latest study published on the subject, Dr. Nicole Avena of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that behaviors and attitudes surrounding some types of food closely followed addiction patterns. She hopes her work might one day contribute to the next generation of obesity and eating disorder treatment.

　　美国西奈山伊坎医学院的尼科尔·阿维纳博士在该领域发表的最新研究论文中指出，人们对某些种类的食品所表现出的行为和态度都与成瘾如出一辙。她希望自己的工作有一天可以用于下一代肥胖症及进食障碍的治疗。

      食物成瘾表　　(注：对于食物成瘾的指数。1=完全没问题，7=最有问题)

　　Notice anything? The foods that caused people the most mental distress and physical discomfort are also foods that are highly-processed or are high in added fats and sugars. They're also more likely to have the highest levels of glycemic load, which is a measurement of how a food will raise a person's blood sugar level after eating it.

　　发现什么了吗?会让人们产生最多精神负担和身体不适的食物，同时也是那些深度加工、富含人工添加脂肪和糖类的食物。它们也最有可能产生最高的血糖负荷，而该指数可以测定一种食物吃下去之后会在多大程度上提高一个人的血糖水平。

　　Food addiction isn't an officially recognized addiction; the closest thing to it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is binge eating disorder. But Avena, who has been researching food addiction for over 15 years, says that hers is the first clinical study to assess the connection between how people eat certain foods and the properties of that food —whether it be added fat, sugar or its highly-processed manufacture.

　　食物成瘾并不是一种正式认可的成瘾症;在《精神障碍诊断及统计手册》(DSM-5)中与之最接近的是暴食症。但是，已研究食物成瘾逾15年的阿维纳说，她的研究是第一份测定人们食用某些食物的方式与食物属性之间有何关联的临床研究，这里的食物属性包括人工添加脂肪、糖类或者深度加工。

（编辑：何莹莹）