Sadly, dieting doesn’t even begin to address the neurological issues surrounding addiction.

Check out the new definition of addiction (including food disorders) adopted by the American Society for Addiction Medicine as “a chronic neurological disorder involving many brain functions, most notably a devastating imbalance in the so-called reward circuitry. This fundamental impairment in the experience of pleasure literally compels the addict to chase the chemical highs produced by substances like drugs and alcohol and obsessive behaviors like sex, food and gambling.” (Summary of definition from Alternet’s “A Radical New Definition of Addiction Creates a Big Storm“)

To read the actual text of the new definition, go to
http://www.asam.org/DefinitionofAddiction-LongVersion.html
(pdf download)
or read the excellent summary at
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/152102/a_radical_new_definition_of_addiction_creates_a_big_storm/