http://journals.lww.com/co-gastroenterology/Abstract/2010/03000/Food_addiction__true_or_false_.16.aspx If you have access to a college journal database, you can do a search and find much more. Particularly in neuroscience, if you want to get at the neurological research (a lot of which seems like newer research, 2010+). There's also probably a lot in psychology, possibly pubmed Food addiction is a known researched topic and is gaining in popularity as the obesity problem expands like a fat kid in a candy store. In general the idea of an addiction is that if there is a sense of psychological dependency involved without the control to stop, there is an element of addictive behavior involved. You probably see this more in binge eaters. Not to mention how very off-center mentally fat people are about proper food portions, so they have some mental issues with perspective going on...I also hear stories of fat people not really understanding what actual hunger is, or being unable to tell what their body means (e.g. pregnancy and a kicking baby being mistaken for gas, boredom mistaken for hunger, etc). There are also a lot of similarities with how fat people act when you take away their food and how addicts act when you take away their vice (irritation, withdrawal...ever see a fat person throw a tantrum when they get hungry?). Lying and manipulative behavior is also up there with the addictive behavior. Not to mention feelings of shame/guilt/anxiety which fat people should know about true and well, which is why they get so defensive about their overeating.  I wouldn't have a good opinion of an addict. It can be used as an excuse, for sure, but that doesn't mean that an addict gets a free pass to fuck up. Even addicts should be shamed to change, especially if they are aware of their problems and know how to fix them but refuse to. IMO one reason diets don't work with fat people is because that no one ever addresses the mental aspects of fat peoples' eating behaviors, such as the issue of addiction and depression. Getting a fat person to go on a diet is like telling a smoker or druggie to quit cold turkey, a lot of times it just isn't going to happen and they'll cheat and get back into old habits. In which case they should be shamed even more or at least have an awareness that their issue, is an issue that they chose to refuse to treat, in favor of wallowing in their vice. It's no ones fault but their own. Selfish fucks.