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If you order and eat stacks of pizza at a time, you might be a food addict.
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If you can't stop eating chocolate and avoid your friends because you're too ashamed of the empty candy wrappers overflowing your wastebasket, you may be a food addict.
You may think you’re addicted to chocolate, but it’s unlikely you cut yourself off from your friends because you’re too embarrassed to scarf down Hershey bar after Hershey bar in front of them.
And it’s doubtful you bar the door to your home because you don’t want anyone to see the overflow of candy wrappers in your wastebaskets or the gallons of chocolate milk in your fridge.
Your kids probably aren’t going barefoot because you’re blowing your paycheck on Cadbury and Godiva.
Only a true food addict would go to such extreme behavior. And psychologist Caroline Davis appears to have identified some.
Davis and her colleagues at Toronto’s York University recruited 72 obese men and women, ages 25 to 45, and gave them a questionnaire designed to identify people addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The addiction scale, developed by Yale University researchers, focuses on seven symptoms, such as repeatedly trying to quit without success and stopping social and recreational activities.
The researchers made one teensy change on the questionnaire: They replaced the word “drugs” with “food.”
Of the 72 obese people in Davis’s study, 18 fit the criteria for addiction -- only their substance of abuse was food, not drugs or alcohol.
“Their relationship with food and how it rules their behavior is dramatic,” says Davis, a psychologist who works in the field of neuroscience.
One apparent food addict in her study had stopped going out with friends or inviting them over. Her fridge was stocked with gallons of Coke, her home littered with boxes from the large pizzas she ordered, two at a time, several nights a week.
‘’She didn’t have a romantic partner because she didn’t want anybody to see this side of her,” Davis says.
About two-thirds of the study volunteers were women, as were about two-thirds of the “food addicts.” The food addicts and the non-addicts were also similar in age and BMI.
But, like drug addicts and alcoholics, the food addicts were more likely to have other psychological issues. They were three times more likely than other study participants to meet the criteria for binge-eating. Depression also was more common among the food addicts, and they exhibited more symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Animal studies have suggested that foods high in sugar and fat have a similar effect on the brain as alcohol and other drugs of abuse, Davis says. “Alcohol is just fermented sugar. They work on our brain reward pathways in the same way.”
Davis, who presented her findings June 15 at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, says she has more work to do. Many addicts abuse more than one substance, so she wonders if she would have seen a greater proportion of food addicts if alcoholics and drug addicts had been allowed in her study. She also wants to see whether genes that may be linked to drug abuse are also more common in her food addicts.
Before she got into this line of research, Davis studied excessive exercising. ‘’I absolutely believe there is such a thing as exercise addiction,” she says.
Unfortunately, food addiction and exercise addiction seem to be mutually exclusive, Davis says.
In her experience, gym rats who work out four or five hours a day all have serious food and body image issues. But they’re addicted to starving, not eating.
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Until people admit that they have a problem with food it will not go away...heavy people are deluding themselves into thinking that they do not have a problem...I used to be FAT and made all the excuses I could but deep down I knew the truth about WHY.....I simply ate too much and did not exercise....until I admitted that I had a problem and I took control and responsibility and no longer allowed food to control me I would always be fat...was it easy..NO of course not but a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Denial is a deep and dark river and a lot of us are swimming in it!!!
I hate people who wan't the world to change so that they don't have to lose weight. I'm sorry, but I hate fat chicks, and when they tell me I and the rest of our nation needs to redefine our standard of beauty so she can continue her bad eating habits, I get a little angered.
I come from a family of addiction and mental illness - grandfather established AA in our town. I have been sober for 24 years (used to drink heavily and did all sorts of drugs.) I started smoking cigarettes at 9 years old - smoked pot at 11 - started drinking at 13. Quit everything but smoking at age 24. I have smoked for almost 40 years. I also turned to food when I became sober. I have struggled with my weight since my twenties. Sometimes I do very well and am considered a "babe" and sometimes I have tremendous difficulty and am considered obese. Currently I am a member of a gym and weight watchers. I try very hard but unlike drugs and alcohol you cannot just quit eating. Also, food is part of all celebrations and daily life. I am glad that I eat instead of do drugs but I am still unhappy with my body. AND there is so much derision in the world for fat people. I do not blame anyone but myself but I do know that people without addictive tendencies have no idea what it is like to have them. All I ask is for a little more compassion.
IMHO it's carbohydrates that are addicting and the cause of obesity.
It's currently in the process of being proven but all CORRECT studies take time.
Paleo Solutions by Robb Wolf is a good place to start for anyone wanting to know.
People eat junk foods to feel better. It's so simple... yet few realize it.
When you choose pizza and ice cream over a salad and pasta, you don't care what it does to your body. You choose it because you want that instant gratification of the fat and salt and sugar on your tongue. And when you make that choice on a daily basis, deciding that food for quick comfort is more important than food for healthy living, you gradually get fat.
You can't eat a diet of primarily junk food and claim it's not your fault that you are fat. And, sadly, a lot of people have grown up with so much junk food in their household that they can't even recognize it as junk food anymore. Sugar-O's aren't a healthy breakfast... hamburgers aren't a healthy lunch... and our national obsession with dairy is out of control.
You're not going to get fat on lettuce and tomatoes and carrots and apples and bananas and water and tea, friends. If you aren't eating primarily to power your body, you're eating to boost your mood... and the results are in the mirror.
When you have other emotional issues, you take the food-as-comfort habit even further, eating junk foods past the point of satisfying your caloric needs to the point of eating until you're completely stuffed. And when you do that on a daily basis, you get obese.
Our society really needs to teach kids better coping mechanisms for dealing with the stress in life, rather than killing themselves with greasy salty sugary food. It's a lack of life skills, it's a lack of self control, it's a lack of physiological knowledge, and it's a lack of role models at home.
Apparently the Author does not understand that foods are drugs!!!
But, I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
for example, I eat oatmeal to provide medicine to my heart in order to make or keep it healthy.
Also, just about any habit that can be done more than one time is an addiction.
Allow for me to introduce a new scientific law!!!!
There is not one of anything unless specific!!!!
Meaning that there is not one blade of grass, one party, one individual u
Continued..
Meaning that there is not one blade of grass, one party, one individual, one life etc. unless specific.
For Instance there is only one peel-layer "me" but there are many bloggers like me.
I'm specific but the number of people are vast.
I also believe that this is true across the board even when it comes to living life.
You may not live the same life specifically but, I believe you live a number of lives but never will have the same life as you did or do now!!
This is also backed by the law...
Energy can't be created nor destroyed only transformed into other energy.
I also make relevant in this situation the fact that while you are alive you are either sleep or awake and go from one state to the next many times over.
Same thing with life or death.
Either you are dead or you are alive and you do switch between the two states because we don't do anything once.
I know this is off topic but just a taste of what you can do if you don't listen to others and if you begin to pay attention in order to come to your own conclusions.
In other word use your brains and don't allow for others to conclude for you what u have not yet payed attention to!!!!!
PLAYER
We are all victims. We are not responsible for our own destructive behavior.
Doenst that make you feel better?
The point of this article is that Food Addiction is an addiction and illness that needs to be treated like any other addiction: with medical and professional help, caring, and support. People have no idea where to go for help with food addiction, and they need positive support, not ridicule. If you think an addict can control their addiction, you are sadly mistaken. No one is saying an addict is a victim, but they are not in control of their addiction, and as we all know, addictions are VERY tricky. Many people relapse. Loving support from others is essential.
redmoth, until people recognize and admit that they have an addiction in the 1st place they will never attempt to get the help that they need.......when you say that people have no idea where to go for help...what are you talking about....they need to start with themselves..there is no pill you can take or spell you can cast....YOU have the power NOT the food!!!
How about Joining a gym..they all have personal trainers and the 1st two sessions are usually free...they will tell you what to eat and when and when and how to work out....a Dr can tell you the same thing....or how about start walking and stop buying JUNK....I found that if the food wasn't in the house I couldn't eat it.....the responsibility lies with the individual and no one else.
This article is nothing but comfort food (pun intended) for the millions of people who do not take responsibility for their food intake. It is the restaurant's fault because of portion size, fast food industry's fault due to composition of the menu, grocery's fault because they dont carry fresh vegetables. I eat a pound of chocolate because I am addicted. We have an epidemic of obesity. In some states over 30 percent of people are obese. Do we really have addiction at that level. No, we have poor choices around eating and excercise.
We are a people of rationaliations. It is never our fault. My did doesnt do well in school, it is the teacher's fault. Im unhappy, it is my parents fault. I smoke cigarettes...it is big tobacco's fault. My teenage son drinks beer, it is due to advertising. My kid eats McDonalds 4 days a week, it is because they put toys in the packaging.......................Does anyone own their own behavior?
If it's a true addiction then they are no longer in control of their actions. Their free will has been destroyed, and they're little more than puppets or automatons with no purpose other than feeding the addiction. All their human intelligence, all their creativity, all their talents and abilities -- all hijacked by a mental disease over which they have no control.
That is the theory behind addiction -- the removal of free will. People who simply cannot make their own decisions anymore.
That's a scary concept.
I've never felt addiction, so I can't say how accurate it is. But I've heard people talk about addiction. There are two types -- the type that can kick addiction through an act of sheer will, and the type who says that is simply impossible.
I don't know if that means some people are more prone to addiction or what. But I ponder the philosophical implications frequently. Is willpower an inherent trait that some people possess and some do not? If somebody cannot muster the willpower to end addictive and self-destructive behavior, should they suffer the consequences of their inability? Or should we as a society accept that they CAN'T control their own actions or make good decisions -- they physically lack the ability -- and make rules and laws to help them?
I like to operate on the assumption that people are free agents who can control their decisions. But what if this isn't true? What would that mean? How can we tell the difference between people choosing to make bad decisions and people incapable - literally - of making good decisions? We don't expect people born with deformed legs to be able to walk. Maybe there's a brain sector involved with free will and decision making that sometimes doesn't develop. Maybe it's a real thing that they simply can't do it, any more than somebody without legs can walk.
And then of course the political GOTCHA question -- what about their children? Should the innocents suffer the ill-effects of their parents life? This is the argument that gave all children in America free health care through Medicaid, and free lunches at school, and so on.
These are the things that keep me up at night...
Thought provoking post.
Im certain that there is a very small population that is addicted to food. My concern is that the notion of addiction is embraced by the masses and a culture of victimization s is created. We didnt move from a 15% rate of obesity to 30% because of an epidemic of addiction. We got there because of bad choices on the part of many individuals. Those bad lifestyle choices are being reinforced by a popular culture that constantly messages "its not your fault".
I agree. There is a small percentage of people whose "addiction" is hard to overcome with willpower and thus requires intervention, counseling and constant monitoring. But the majority of people do not have a serious addiction issue...they just make poor choices and need to stop whining about their weight problems and hold themselves accountable. But everyone wants an easy solution, hence the billions of dollars the weight-loss industry makes. There is no easy solution. Eat right and exercise and be consistent and persistent.
Queenie, it is fantastic that you were able to change your habits and become more healthy. However, addiction has biological roots. It is not merely a matter of willpower.
Not all overweight people are food addicts. I would guess that a minority of overweight people would fall into this category. But for the ones who are, it is not useful to insist that all they need to do is try harder. Imagine running upstairs while holding your breath. For an addict, that is what it is like to try to "cold turkey" their way out of addiction. The biological part of the addiction must be addressed in order to help them.
Alice people are fat because they stuff their faces all day and don't move to burn the calories...the food makes them feel better about themselves....they are self-medicating....unlike gambling and some other addictions food SHOWS on you....I think MOST fat people are food addicts and I'll say it one more time until a fat persons recognizes that THEY are responsible for their weight (addiction or not) and no one or nothing else is responsible they will always be fat....no one said cold turkey but for some that's the only way to go....so stop crying me a river please.
I've seen overweight people who eat like birds and skinny people who eat junk food all day long. True, some overweight people are that way because they eat too much, but it is far from the only factor and metabolism has more to do with it than anything. If that weren't true, then I wouldn't know so many skinny people that eat junk food all day long.
"Some people", Yes. The vast majority of obese people have metabolic issues...No. Are you suggesting that 10 years ago we had an epidemic of metabolic issues?
People seem to be forgetting that just because it is an addiction doesn't mean that the study is denying there was choice involved. Just like drug and alcohol addiction, food addiction starts and stops with choice -- however, it being an addiction, it does mean that there is going to be additional difficulties involved in recovery.
I don't expect a meth addict or an alcoholic to just stop without help --- some can, but many can't. Why would I expect it of a food addict? There are deep issues and trauma associated with addiction that need to be rooted out on the path to recovery.
Drug addiction starts with choosing to use drugs to self-medicate. Food addiction starts with choosing to use food to self-medicate. Reocgnizing something as an addiction doesn't take away personal responsibility. It just means that, once you're on that path, you may need additional help to get on a new course once you make the decision to change your life.
thanks dreamer...that was well said!!!
Although exercise is great for many reasons including increasing your metabolism, one has to deal with what one is eating or not eating in order to lose weight. No accidents the hardest things to put down is the flour and sugar (main components of alchohol). I never over ate on a steak but give me a tray of whoopie pies and I would eat the whole thing!
I truly believe that one can get addicted to just about anything. Moderation in all things, and you will be just fine.
I take it a step further in that even moderation should be taken in moderation. The occasional binge is ok as long as it is only occasional, it becomes a problem when it becomes a habit.
But in general I completely agree, moderation is the key to a happy life.
It is addictive. I never got addicted to smoking or drinking and have done both (never tried drugs). I keep myself in line with food by counting calories and limiting to less than 1000 a day. The more you eat the more you want to eat. It's a viscious cycle. Severely limiting intake and strictly counting calories is the only thing I've been able to do to fight the problem, and it works. I am physically fit. It's a lifestyle that is difficult and feels deprived but it is tolerable enough to maintain. Eventually, I hope medicine will recognize the seriousness of this problem and come up with medication that truly boosts metabolism. I dont believe they can't because I've known several skinny people who ate junk food all day and never gained weight, so it has EVERYTHING to do with metabolism.
This study is bogus; A1 'alcohol or drugs' is a false terms... alcohol is among the most dangerous drugs & that term 'drug or alcohol' is a pernicious falsehood which tricks people into thinking alcohol is not a drug. B2: chocolate is a drug product... caffeine is an addictive drug, not that all drugs are addictive, but caffeine is chemically-addictive & death by overdose happens.
Some drugs are chemically-addictive; this 'study' used a questionaire... that is hardly science... there is a difference between chemical-addictive via drugs & 'addiction' to food or shopping. One is chemical-dependence & the other is behavioral-addiction; they're different & this bogus 'study' is probably confusing people. Food addicts don't have withdrawal like alcoholics do, or even like caffeine addicts do... there are similarities, sure...
There are two types of addiction physical and psychological.
My last post didnt post. I think addiction comes from nurture not nature. Just as I believe that criminals are made not born. Every child is a blank slate at birth. What the care givers of that child write on that slate will effect the childs outlook on life and ultimately decide the childs amount of success and hapiness. Until, we decide to end child abuse and neglect, the prozac nation will continue to grow.
You're so right. My mom told me that when I was a baby, she would give me a bottle of Karo water when she laid me down for a nap. My mom and grandmom, both thin, always had candy and snacks on them. No wonder I have a sweet tooth. I don't do as much walking as my mom and grandmom because they didn't drive at all and I do, so I don't get as much exercise. They lived in different times when things were done differently and no car was needed in the city where we lived. People were also more active then and not just sitting in front of a computer at work and at home either. Anyway, the bottom line is no matter what you were dealt with food-wise as a child, I think it can be overcome later on.
The national obese epidemic continues to be fueled by fast foods, all kinds of sodas, adult beverages, dairy products, sweets and just plain eating too much food. People in general have just lost control of managing their food bowel.
So if the addiction is the same as drugs then overweight people or people with too much food in their possession or the possession of paraphenalia - spoons forks etc. should be charged with felonies and imprisoned in private prisons for profit - just like pot smokers under the Obama administration policies..
If we were talking about people who were addicted to drugs or alcohol, would we be as judgemental and condemning?
Not in California!
People have such knee-jerk reactions to weight discussions. You usually don't see the same finger-pointing when it comes to discussions on other addictions.
It just might not as black-and-white as saying "just stop doing that" if someone's body is craving something that isn't the best for them, whether it's junk food or alcohol or drugs. Granted, as with alcohol and drugs maybe people should never pick up a Twinkie in the first place, and then their bodies wouldn't crave them...but again, the same idea holds true: some people have a genuine problem, and some don't. If you don't, great. If you do, get help.
To me, food addiction is certainly the same as other addictions. I am dealing with this. I no longer buy chips, cheese curls, baked goods, cookies ice cream, etc. Occasionally, I indulge myself, but it's not a regular thing anymore. It's hard to give up everything that's a treat. I am trying to give up my beloved fudge bars. Thank God they're only 40 calories. I do exercise at least two hours a day to try to counter-act the damage. Food addiction is a hard habit to break, but it can be done. I'm a work in progress, but I am making progress.
Addiction has as many socially driven factors as psychological and physiological factors. Unfortunately, modern research is mainly focused on the last two and not the first (factors that are influenced or defined by society). When someone says overweight people need to make the "right choices" instead of the "wrong choices" they are applying societal standards to what may or may not be a issue to the person it is being directed. In many cultures throughout history (and even currently) obesity was not frowned upon and was accepted, even admired. The drive to have conformity may be as much of a problem with those who insist that all should fit some version of the Vitruvian man - perhaps it is they who have a psychological problem ("orthomania"?). Can we glean out the personal frustration and anxiety that an "overweight" person one feels that is purely based on the fact they do not fit a current social standard of physical apparance? Probably not. Without the pressure of social standards defining appropriate appearance and behavior would any type of addiction have a separate existence? Perhaps not. In this sense, "addiction treatment" becomes a kind of brain-washing strategy to get individuals to view the world in a culturally-specific way. Once they do this, they are "cured."
A drive to conformity?? To meet some social standard? Nonsense. How about a drive to stop runaway healthcare costs. Obesity is a huge driver in costs. Guess who pays?
That is certainly a good argument. However, most who will eventually diet to lose weight do so because of social approval.
I don't mean to defend obesity - I only point out that the "disease" definition has many flaws and that if we are really going to help those with weight problems we need to better understand their predicament.
I agree that unless someone is morbidly obese, people generally attempt to lose the weight based upon social approval. But society has a real vested interest in people not being obese beyond and social context. Also while I agree that people need help, information, support, and encouragment at the end of the day they will have to make better nutrition and exercise decisions.
No probably with "defending" obesity.....me (regretfully )and others on this board Im sure have come across as very judgemental to people fighting weight issues.
Sugar was my original gateway drug. Then as an adult I moved on to less harmful things, like smoking pot. But man, I had quite the candy bar habit as a teenager, I was even stealing money from people to buy more sugary crap...
Sugar is a substance that can be addicting, it, along with chocolate, is added to tobacco because of it's addictiveness. (or at least it was about 15 years ago when I investigated ingredients and ultimately quit smoking) I had a terrible sugar craving after I quit, and was chewing bubble gum like there was no tomorrow, and eating whole bags of butterscotch candies. I thought something was seriously wrong with me until I studied further and found that this is a normal reaction sometimes when you quit smoking. I am 100 lbs overweight and still fighting a sugar addiction,and it is very hard to do considering all the things that have sugar already added.Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but I am going to just keep trying to stop it like I did with cigarettes, and hopefully I will win in the end. It also helps to look in the mirror and see how ugly the bulges and rolls are.Makes me mad at myself, I am the one who did it, no one else made me eat what I did to get that way. I get lazy and need to give myself a swift kick sometimes.
I'm like that with refined carbs also....once I start look out...I have to check all my food labels and check the carb counts or I make my own food so I always know what's in there...and a big help is to pack your lunch everyday and just don't buy the bad stuff...if it's not in your house you can't eat it...I used to weigh 175 and now weigh 130 and I'm short so not good...it's been a slow process and I've fallen off the wagon a few times but let me tell you I just keep reminding myself that the pleasure from food only lasts a few seconds...minutes at most and then it's gone...but the weight will last a LOT longer and it's just not worth it...good luck to you suki!
I wish you the best Suki- I am battling a sugar addiction as well that has taken over my life.
I am very overweight, by about 55 pounds, and on my 5"2 frame, you can just imagine how awful and dumpy I look to myself and to other people.
I have been battling weight since my early twenties. Prior to that, I was tiny and petite-never more than 110 pounds.
Genes, IMO, play a BIG part with weight. Both my parents are morbidly obese, and out of their 4 kids, my Brother and I got their "fat genes". My other brother, who is 6"1 and built like a toothpick, and my Sister, who has a completely different shape than I do, have never had weight issues at all. They are both built completely different from me and my obese Brother, and gain no weight despite eating whatever they want.
I am currently on WW, and have lost 12 pounds since March, but this will be a long, slow battle. The sugar addiction is terrible for me, and I fight cravings every single day. The one thing that keeps me focused is that my Father is a type II Diabetic, and has been since his mid forties. Now at age 44, my sugar has been creeping up over the last year, so not only did I inherit the "fat genes", I also will inherit the diabetes part of this as well if I don't get a handle on my weight. There's no way that I want that disease, so staying obese is no longer an option for me.
I hope everyone reading these posts who don't understand sugar/food addictions can be sympathetic to us that have them. It cripples your life and robs you of self esteem and self worth.
Wish me luck with my fight!!
I wonder if people would be as judgemental or condemning if the topic were drug/alcohol addiction.
I wouldn't, drugs and alcohol don't always make you look ugly =P
Yep, it is all the same. Food addicts and drug addicts. By the way there is no difference between a drug addict and an alcoholic.
Interesting article and some good comments here. For anyone interested in a more in-depth look at this important issue, check out Dr. Gabor Maté's In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. This book is available in audio, too, from Post Hypnotic Press. Download direct to your smart device using Ambling Books neat little app. To quote Dr. Maté from his book:
"I believe there is one addiction process, whether it manifests in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients, the frantic self-soothing of overeaters or shopaholics, the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users, or in the socially acceptable and even admired behaviours of the workaholic. Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill-fated struggle to overcome suffering through substance use. Both in their flaws and their virtues they share much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives we can trace outlines of our own."
—from In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
food addiction largely comes from food additives and preservative's. fresh fruits and veggies will pretty much cure that. processed foods have us pretty much comatose. been thier done that. the same corporations that supply our foods also own our hospitals and pharmacies. they are getting stinking rich and they dont care who they harm on the way. wake up America. Quit buying thier poison. God Bless all
THE most successful diets of the 20th century pre 1960 were high protein/ high fat.
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes shows EVERY ONE of these and exactly where the nation went wrong.
The info's there, people.
Loren Cordain, Mat LaLonde, Robb Wolf, Arthur DeVany, etc... These people will save your life if you let them.