From Dairy Queen's Chocolate Extreme Blizzards to a Hershey's bar, I love chocolate of all kinds mixed with all assorted products. I think everyone knows that chocolate is harmful to humans if consumed in large/multiple quantities. But I have also heard of people having “chocolate addiction”. I realize that most people exaggerate when they say they are “addicted” to chocolate, but this leads me to wonder if it is possible to truly be addicted to chocolate and if it is something that could happen to anyone. As we know chocolate is an unhealthy food option that most of us have, it also comes under one of the most popular food groups, junk food. Nowadays everyone eats "junk food" at some point in their life; although its consumption is even more popular in the United States. Many Americans have been becoming increasingly obese over the last century, in part because of this fact. According to Dr. Jeffrey Fortuna, author of the article The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug Addiction, “In 2010, nearly 70 percent of American adults were overweight or obese. Specifically, 35.7% of American adults are obese, and this is the highest level of obesity in the recorded history of the United States” (Fortuna, p. 1). I began to wonder if it was possible that these people have become addicted to the junk food they crave, leading to these disturbing statistics. From the same article, The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug Addiction, I learned that food has addictive qualities. There were biological and psychological factors similar to those of drug addiction. “They are: (1) cravings for specific drugs and palatable foods exist in many of the same neural pathways and; (2).......middle of paper......is anyone on a diet? Obviously not; Dieting or eating “right” is something everyone should do, whether it's eating more or less of a certain food group. Having a “right” diet is not something that will make our current situation worse, even if the chemistry is against us. So yes, there are food "addictions" but they are not 100% similar to drug addictions. There are consequences to eating too much of one thing, but the point here is that it may not be the individual's fault. Works Cited Fortuna, Jeffrey L. “The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug Addiction.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 44.1 (2012): 56-63. Premier of academic research. Network. November 08, 2013. Miller, Michael C. “Is It Possible to Become Addicted to Chocolate?” Harvard Mental Health Letter 28.5 (2011): 8.Academic Search Premier. Network. 08 November. 2013