Podcast: Craving a Scapegoat: Is Sugar Really 'Addictive'?

By Cameron English and ChuckDinerstein — Apr 24, 2025

"Sugar is addictive." It's a widespread, well-researched claim — and it's probably false. The assertion oversimplifies complex eating behaviors driven by an even more complicated cluster of influences. While sugar intake can stimulate reward pathways in the brain similar to drugs, it lacks several key characteristics of true addiction, leading to a less satisfying but more accurate conclusion: We've picked a convenient scapegoat instead of solving our real nutritional problems.

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Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 112 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss:

Is Sugar Addictive, or Are We Just Craving a Scapegoat?

Is sugar the new nicotine … or maybe just the current scapegoat for our collective confusion over what’s “healthy?” Science can’t decide if sugar is a genuine addiction or a guilty pleasure, and our ever-changing regulations seem guided more by politics than hard data. Let’s see whether sugar really deserves its bad rap or if we’re simply hooked on the confusion.

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Cameron English

Director of Bioscience

Cameron English is a writer, editor and co-host of the Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast. Before joining ACSH, he was managing editor at the Genetic Literacy Project.