“Betcha can’t eat just one” is one of the most successful advertising slogans ever fashioned. Introduced by the Frito-Lay snack food company in 1963, it was crafted to promote its potato chips. For its television campaign, the company hired Bert Lahr, who had endeared himself to audiences playing the role of the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. Although the term “food addiction” wasn’t on anyone’s lips at the time, the slogan insinuated such a possibility. The choice of Bert Lahr turned out to be auspicious.

Fans of the film will recall how the Wicked Witch of the West conjures up a poppy field in front of the Emerald City to prevent Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow from entering. As the four meander through the field, Dorothy and the Lion mysteriously fall asleep, succumbing to the narcotic vapours released by the poppies. The Tin Man and the Scarecrow, not possessed of human or animal biology, are unaffected. Morphine, the major narcotic in poppies, has been shown to increase dopamine release in the brain, a factor that contributes to the pleasurable effect and is a major contributor to morphine’s addictive potential. Researchers are now wondering whether certain foods can also lead to addiction by triggering a surge of dopamine.

The possibility of food addiction was first raised by Dr. Paul Kenny in a 2010 paper titled “Dopamine receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats.” The study involved........

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