The theory of ‘food addiction’ is a widely debated idea, with research focus growing exponentially in recent years. Food as an addictive-like substance, namely, refined sugars and ultra-processed foods, are proposed as a possible missing link in our understanding of obesity and eating behaviours. Identifying and understanding the extent of the current evidence, particularly conducted on humans, is critical for designing effective interventions and strategies to reduce obesity rates and ill health. Therefore, the aim of this systematic scoping review is to understand the extent and type of evidence available on the concept of refined sugar addiction. Literature published in the English language from 01/01/2000 - 31/12/2025 will be considered. Research conducted on humans will be included with the aim to investigate refined sugar addiction. Journal articles in a global context with no limits on experimental design will be considered (qualitative, quantitative or mixed), provided they aim to investigate sugar addiction, measured through techniques such as behavioural, physiological, questionnaire outcomes (self-reported addictive-like behaviours, experimental tasks), and/or qualitative outcomes (interviews). Three databases will be used; MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus, and Web of Science. Duplicates will be removed before screening. Articles will be screened by two independent reviewers in three phases: by title and abstract, full text, and finally the references of full text articles. Connected papers and forward searching will be used to identify missing and relevant studies of the final included articles. Results will be analysed narratively and thematically. The key study characteristics will be charted in a data extraction table and results presented in a narrative and diagrammatic form.
Gardner et al. (Thu,) studied this question.