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Thoughts on food "addiction"?
determined_14
Posts: 258 Member
A couple days ago I got an article update email from the "Girls Gone Strong" website for this piece:
https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/5-foods-never-eat/?awt_l=7aeFY&awt_m=3ajbvftgpd2eIIP
I usually like their stuff but was a bit disappointed in point #5; if you read the comments, I'm the Susanna commenter.
In reply, someone linked me to this:
http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/
Talk to me about food addiction: what we know, what we don't, and also whether things like HFCS and artificial colors actually *harm* our bodies, or just provide us with calories sans nutritional needs.
Thanks!
https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/5-foods-never-eat/?awt_l=7aeFY&awt_m=3ajbvftgpd2eIIP
I usually like their stuff but was a bit disappointed in point #5; if you read the comments, I'm the Susanna commenter.
In reply, someone linked me to this:
http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/
Talk to me about food addiction: what we know, what we don't, and also whether things like HFCS and artificial colors actually *harm* our bodies, or just provide us with calories sans nutritional needs.
Thanks!
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Replies
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I know that sweets and other (noticeably processed) carbohydrates seem to set off physical cravings for me. Many of these are "not real foods" and they led to over eating and poor health in a way that over eating fat or protein never has for me. For me, her article rings true.
I know this isn't true for all. Many or most will never have the issues I do but that makes sense to me. I have no cravings for pot, cigarettes, or alcohol and yet others do. We are just wired differently.0 -
The science seems to be that there's no food addiction, but there may be something like an eating addiction for some. I think this is more akin to a real bingeing disorder or what afflicts those who become truly, morbidly obese and cannot live a normal life than most people who just struggle with their weight and overeat delicious food that is always easily available.
It IS true that we have a dopamine response to tasty food (fat as much as sugar), but that's hardly surprising in that eating is something we should be encouraged to do by our bodies -- it just makes good evolutionary sense. I find it odd when people call that an addiction.
I've not seen any evidence that HFCS is meaningfully different than sugar. The thing about HFCS is it's super cheap and can be more easily added to many types of foods, so it's existence (and the fact it benefited from corn subsidies) has probably helped lead to an overall increase in the calories that people consume, especially how cheap and available they are. (I don't tend to eat HFCS myself just because I've found it helpful to cultivate my innate snobbiness about store-bought, packaged baked goods and other premade/packaged foods of many sorts, but I don't lie to myself that they are inherently unhealthy or that those who eat them are. IMO, since home-made stuff tends to be tastier, the idea that the packaged stuff is "addictive" is especially odd. It's made to be as appealing to consumers as possible, as well as convenient and cheap, but I think the convenient and cheap part is what's really significant.)0 -
Others far more well versed than myself can provide the citations...but in the clinical sense being addicted to food isn't a thing (aside from the semantics that we're all technically "addicted" to food in the sense that we would die without eating).
There is some research that the behavioral aspect of eating can be clinically addictive, but that's not what most of us experience.
I don't believe most people who are claiming to be "addicted" to food mean it in the clinical sense, but it's important to note that the word does carry a specific meaning in that context. Most people mean they just REALLY REALLY like _____________(insert delicious food here).
Personally, I think for those in that latter group, to be successful, it's important to overcome that mindset of being "addicted" - which implies that that particular food, whatever it is, has power over you (or conversely, that you are powerless when it comes to that food). Taking back that power is a mental and/or emotional hurdle that needs to be overcome - regardless of the method used to do so (elimination, reduction, moderation, etc).
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Well, in a sense, we are all addicted to food. The withdrawal symptoms culminate in starvation.0
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For a good overview of the scientific literature on the topic, see this:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S01497634140021400 -
Well, in a sense, we are all addicted to food. The withdrawal symptoms culminate in starvation.
This is what I think as well when I think about "food addiction." I'm no expert, but I feel like I'm addicted to food in the same way I'm addicted to oxygen and water. But I know that people who ask about it don't really mean it in that way.0 -
The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article, IMO, published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
"It is likely that foods have varying capacities to elicit an addictive-like response based on their ingredient composition and processing. One recent study reported that the degree to which a food has been processed is the most influential attribute for whether a food is associated with addictive eating behaviors (Schulte et al., 2015). In addition, in a qualitative study of self-identified ‘food addicts’, calorie-laden ‘junk’ foods such as chocolate and cookies were identified as the most common foods associated with addictive-like eating behaviors (Curtis & Davis, 2014). High-calorie, highly processed foods, which are ubiquitous in the modern food environment, are widely hypothesized as those that are most likely to be associated with addictive-like eating behaviors in humans (Ifland et al., 2009 and Corsica and Pelchat, 2010). This hypothesis may be attributed in part to pre-clinical studies which have demonstrated that foods high in sugar and fat can elicit addictive-like behaviors in rodents (Avena et al., 2009). While preliminary research has emerged to identify whether similar food characteristics could potentially facilitate addictive-like eating in humans (Schulte et al., 2015), further research is required in this area."0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Others far more well versed than myself can provide the citations...but in the clinical sense being addicted to food isn't a thing (aside from the semantics that we're all technically "addicted" to food in the sense that we would die without eating).
There is some research that the behavioral aspect of eating can be clinically addictive, but that's not what most of us experience.
I don't believe most people who are claiming to be "addicted" to food mean it in the clinical sense, but it's important to note that the word does carry a specific meaning in that context. Most people mean they just REALLY REALLY like _____________(insert delicious food here).
Personally, I think for those in that latter group, to be successful, it's important to overcome that mindset of being "addicted" - which implies that that particular food, whatever it is, has power over you (or conversely, that you are powerless when it comes to that food). Taking back that power is a mental and/or emotional hurdle that needs to be overcome - regardless of the method used to do so (elimination, reduction, moderation, etc).
well said...0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
Just to clarify - again note that it is the BEHAVIOR that's being termed 'addictive' - not the food itself.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
Just to clarify - again note that it is the BEHAVIOR that's being termed 'addictive' - not the food itself.
Yes, I can read. Thank you.0 -
I'm addicted to food, if I stop eating, I will die. He, he, snicker, snicker.
Seriously, some foods are more desirable than others but "food addiction" as most people use it is nonsense.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
Just to clarify - again note that it is the BEHAVIOR that's being termed 'addictive' - not the food itself.
Yes, I can read. Thank you.
Snarkiness aside, I was pointing it out for those who may not bother to click on and read the article, and instead read only the title of "Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Others far more well versed than myself can provide the citations...but in the clinical sense being addicted to food isn't a thing (aside from the semantics that we're all technically "addicted" to food in the sense that we would die without eating).
There is some research that the behavioral aspect of eating can be clinically addictive, but that's not what most of us experience.
I don't believe most people who are claiming to be "addicted" to food mean it in the clinical sense, but it's important to note that the word does carry a specific meaning in that context. Most people mean they just REALLY REALLY like _____________(insert delicious food here).
Personally, I think for those in that latter group, to be successful, it's important to overcome that mindset of being "addicted" - which implies that that particular food, whatever it is, has power over you (or conversely, that you are powerless when it comes to that food). Taking back that power is a mental and/or emotional hurdle that needs to be overcome - regardless of the method used to do so (elimination, reduction, moderation, etc).
cosign..
I was reviewing some of the literature yesterday, and I believe the most recent one is the yale or harvard study, but a review of that warns that more study is needed. Most food addiction seems to be where people have a behavioral issue and then use food to either mask the problem or eat to get "pleasure" to cover up some kind of mental health issue.
I personally do not believe that food is an addictive substance like heroin or pain killers.0 -
You just have to experiment. Some people have foods they must avoid; others don't. I don't know if people will ever agree on the addiction angle.
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article, IMO, published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
"It is likely that foods have varying capacities to elicit an addictive-like response based on their ingredient composition and processing. One recent study reported that the degree to which a food has been processed is the most influential attribute for whether a food is associated with addictive eating behaviors (Schulte et al., 2015). In addition, in a qualitative study of self-identified ‘food addicts’, calorie-laden ‘junk’ foods such as chocolate and cookies were identified as the most common foods associated with addictive-like eating behaviors (Curtis & Davis, 2014). High-calorie, highly processed foods, which are ubiquitous in the modern food environment, are widely hypothesized as those that are most likely to be associated with addictive-like eating behaviors in humans (Ifland et al., 2009 and Corsica and Pelchat, 2010). This hypothesis may be attributed in part to pre-clinical studies which have demonstrated that foods high in sugar and fat can elicit addictive-like behaviors in rodents (Avena et al., 2009). While preliminary research has emerged to identify whether similar food characteristics could potentially facilitate addictive-like eating in humans (Schulte et al., 2015), further research is required in this area."
I feel like this is an incredibly short-sighted speculation. Of course processed foods are going to be considered 'more addictive'. Manufacturers make and market foods that are as appealing as possible. Given the choice, it's the most appealing foods that people are going to tend to overeat. Those will the foods that people have a hard time turning down because they are desirable. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I'm sure that if it were a significant evolutionary advantage for some fruit to evolve to be hyper-appealing to humans, that it would be high on that list as well.0 -
I was reviewing some of the literature yesterday, and I believe the most recent one is the yale or harvard study, but a review of that warns that more study is needed. Most food addiction seems to be where people have a behavioral issue and then use food to either mask the problem or eat to get "pleasure" to cover up some kind of mental health issue.
I personally do not believe that food is an addictive substance like heroin or pain killers.
Just reading about this yesterday, eh? This basically sums up why I asked this group: ya'll are a bunch of nerds! (I mean that in the highest complimentary way possible.)
Seriously, the combination of scientific resource and common sense on these forums is invaluable to me.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in.
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determined_14 wrote: »
I was reviewing some of the literature yesterday, and I believe the most recent one is the yale or harvard study, but a review of that warns that more study is needed. Most food addiction seems to be where people have a behavioral issue and then use food to either mask the problem or eat to get "pleasure" to cover up some kind of mental health issue.
I personally do not believe that food is an addictive substance like heroin or pain killers.
Just reading about this yesterday, eh? This basically sums up why I asked this group: ya'll are a bunch of nerds! (I mean that in the highest complimentary way possible.)
Seriously, the combination of scientific resource and common sense on these forums is invaluable to me.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in.
in all honesty, it came up in another thread so I browsed google scholar about the topic....0 -
Well, in a sense, we are all addicted to food. The withdrawal symptoms culminate in starvation.
This is what I think as well when I think about "food addiction." I'm no expert, but I feel like I'm addicted to food in the same way I'm addicted to oxygen and water. But I know that people who ask about it don't really mean it in that way.
That's related to why I don't think "we find pleasure in eating" leads to a conclusion that we are addicted, at all. Of course we do, we need to eat.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
Just to clarify - again note that it is the BEHAVIOR that's being termed 'addictive' - not the food itself.
As someone who has previously had issues with various substances and behaviors, I don't think it really matters if something is a behavioral addiction or a physiological addiction. They can both be devastating.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »AlabasterVerve wrote: »The research is ongoing. Here's another worthwhile article published just this month for anyone interested in the topic:
Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853215000243
Just to clarify - again note that it is the BEHAVIOR that's being termed 'addictive' - not the food itself.
As someone who has previously had issues with various substances and behaviors, I don't think it really matters if something is a behavioral addiction or a physiological addiction. They can both be devastating.
It matters in terms of how it's handled, though. It matters in terms of your thought process and relationship to it, particularly in terms of a future relationship.
If the problem with food is not substance based, future relationship with any food thought to be addictive is possible through behavior modification techniques.0
This discussion has been closed.
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