Our food environment has changed drastically in the last 50 years. Highly processed (HP) foods that strongly activate reward and motivation systems have become cheap, easily accessible, and heavily marketed. Rising levels of overeating and difficulties controlling food intake have accompanied these changes to our food system. There is growing evidence from animal models and biobehavioral research in humans that HP foods may be capable of triggering neurobiological and psychological responses that parallel those associated with drugs of abuse. This has led to a growing interest in the role of addictive processes in certain types of eating pathology. Unlike traditional drugs of abuse, HP foods are typically consumed very early in development (often in the first year of life). In this talk, the evidence that addictive processes may be playing a role in certain types of pathological eating will be evaluated and implications for children and adolescents will be discussed.