Do you believe in food addiction?

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babyangelica2010
babyangelica2010 Posts: 117 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know some people think that you cannot be addicted to food because it is essential for survival and not something you can quit , but I 100% believe that sugary, fatty, and salty junk foods are addictive.
What do you think?
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Replies

  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    I dont think its physically addictive when compared to street or pharmacutical drugs, but I believe if you have one it will cause cravings for more and some of us are more succeptable to those cravings than others. In the medically term No I dont think they are physically addicting. But emotionally and mentally, absolutely. I know from personal experience I cannot have just one cookie or one chip.
  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
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    Yes and no.
    3 months ago I had a craaazy sweet tooth and always felt like I NEEDED cookies and ice cream to cheer me up.
    But it's not hard to stop yourself either. Remove the food from your home, go out to eat less. In less than 3 months I went from a sugar "adict" to no even caring for it. That was the worlds easiest "addiction" to kick.

    Some people are honestly just weaker than others. So many factors come into play when we talk about a persons relationship with food. How were the raised? Did their parents take an interest in their diets or did they shovel them full of soda, processed foods, and school lunches? If so that person is going to have a much harder time understanding what a balanced diet actually is and thus a harder time giving up that food that they have eaten their whole lives.
  • soywoman
    soywoman Posts: 51 Member
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    I absolutely believe you can have food addiction. It is not looked upon as an addiction by most because you DO need to eat to survive, unlike say, alcohol or drugs. Some people choose food for many reasons...easily accessible...people use it a social tool..

    I believe I had been using as a comfort when I was going through my divorce. It has taken it's toll and I am now trying to lose the weight that was gained during that stressful time.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
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    Absolutely. You can mentally be addicted to pretty much anything. As far as physical addiction, eh, maybe not as much as mentally but I do believe there is some correlation because of the mental/physical connection.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I think this thread is going to end badly.

    I also think that food addiction exists in the context of people eating as behavioral response to cope with issues going on in their lives, but I do not believe a person can be addicted to a specific food. I think people tend to choose highly palatable foods when eating to cope and confuse the food itself with the behavior.

    I think people can also develop a habit/learned behavior of sitting down with an entire package of cookies while watching TV or doing some other activity, not paying attention to how many cookies they are eating, and then say that they are incapable of only eating one cookie and have an addiction when they could change that behavior if they make an effort to be conscious of their eating.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Physical addiction? No. Emotional crutch? Sure.

    Please don't take the latter as a put down or a judgement - I don't mean it to be either. I'm just being brutally honest.
    Trust me, I get it and still turn to food from time to time but thankfully I've broken most of my bad eating habits and am still working on the rest of them. I believe anyone can change these behaviors if they truly want to. If you're stressed, bored, bummed, etc, find a different outlet than food.

    Just because you REALLY want to eat something doesn't mean you're addicted to it. That's just a lame excuse.
    /tough love response
  • canadafats
    canadafats Posts: 52
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    I think this thread is going to end badly.

    I also think that food addiction exists in the context of people eating as behavioral response to cope with issues going on in their lives, but I do not believe a person can be addicted to a specific food. I think people tend to choose highly palatable foods when eating to cope and confuse the food itself with the behavior.

    I think people can also develop a habit/learned behavior of sitting down with an entire package of cookies while watching TV or doing some other activity, not paying attention to how many cookies they are eating, and then say that they are incapable of only eating one cookie and have an addiction when they could change that behavior if they make an effort to be conscious of their eating.

    Great comment.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I know some people think that you cannot be addicted to food because it is essential for survival and not something you can quit , but I 100% believe that sugary, fatty, and salty junk foods are addictive.
    What do you think?

    I'm not sure, but I lean more toward yes. Especially for sweets. I've personally never been addicted but then I smoked for years without getting addicted to that either. But I have known people who display the same type of symptoms and cravings when trying to give up sweets as my husband did when kicking his smoking habit.
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
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    There was a long thread arguing sugar as addictive the other day. Because peer reviewed studies show Sugar triggers the same dopamine and other receptors in our brains the same way as heroin nicotine cocaine etc i would tend to agree it can be classed as addictive. Since you cannot eliminate sugars from your diet (there are loads of naturally occurring ones. it really means i guess you can become addicted to the instant hit of processed sugars like say a huge bottle of pop or 12 a day
    I've known some people who were definitely addicted to processed sugars for the hit (one was a 400 pound junkie now dead who I've seen go through 16 liters of pepsi and 4 cakes in a sitting when coming down
    but overall no I don't think food per se can be classed addictive unless you lose a very loose definition of addictions

    having had an addiction I should point out that it is very different than having a behavioral habit like sitting and eating from boredom etc. Physical addictions have real withdrawal symptoms and the actual withdrawal is usually not that long (72 hours for many) after that it's a behavioral thing (learning how to live without the habits tied to the addiction - so for food learning how to eat properly for instance) Also not all people are as easily addicted to things, Smoking as an example i had a hell of a time quitting and finally did after 40 years, my wife could take it or leave it at any point and never got addicted. our brains are just wired differently, my history tells me I'm hard wired for addictions so I have to be aware of it (I quit drinking because it was getting into the danger zone, i know in that case i will drink again it was time to break from it so i could get back to moderation and control of it - i like a glass of wine or a good cocktail too much to say never again - i needed to say not so many and none for a while 12 weeks now )
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I don't know. I absolutely believe that we all have a different relationship with food. I still have a sweet tooth and a hard time not binging on them... in the end it all comes to willpower, sure, heck I've lost 78 lbs so I've got better at resisting, but the urge is still there... and I don't think it's ever going to go away. And I've seen some people who just eat because they have to, and really couldn't care less about food as a whole.

    So clearly some people are more affected than others. And for me someone who eats out of boredom or habit is totally different than someone who thinks about food all the time.. no matter how busy the person is. I see people who mention behaviors and bad habits... but IMO there's way more to it than that... because even if I don't eat when bored/stressed/bummed, I still think about eating.

    For some people it's not just a habit they've picked up in the last 5 years or something... it's a habit they picked up when they were a kid - they felt like having something, so they just had it... it's not linked to any emotion or state in particular. It's not boredom or stress... just the strong desire of eating a particular food. And yes you can stop the habit of actually eating the thing, but the thought process is still there... and that's much harder to overcome than the habit I picked up 2 years ago of having a snack while watching my tv shows in the evening.

    So physical addiction? Definitely not. Emotional? Maybe. I'd have to talk to a therapist to figure it out.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Absolutely. Morbidly obese or crack addict; it's the same difference in my opinion. No one would do that to themselves if there wasn't an addiction at work.

    Morbid Obesity
    http://goo.gl/YVTTkt
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I know some people think that you cannot be addicted to food because it is essential for survival and not something you can quit , but I 100% believe that sugary, fatty, and salty junk foods are addictive.
    What do you think?

    I think humans are extremely good at inventing stories that absolve them of personal responsibility.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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    NO
    If a drug addict stops using drugs, are they cured of the addiction? What if they just do less of the drug or just do the drugs occasionally, are they still considered an addict?

    Can someone addicted to food quit eating, will they be cured of their addiction? What if they eat less or just eat occasionally, are they still considered an addict? How can a food addiction be broken?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I know some people think that you cannot be addicted to food because it is essential for survival and not something you can quit , but I 100% believe that sugary, fatty, and salty junk foods are addictive.
    What do you think?

    I think humans are extremely good at inventing stories that absolve them of personal responsibility.

    How does addiction remove personal responsibility?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    NO
    If a drug addict stops using drugs, are they cured of the addiction? What if they just do less of the drug or just do the drugs occasionally, are they still considered an addict?

    Can someone addicted to food quit eating, will they be cured of their addiction? What if they eat less or just eat occasionally, are they still considered an addict? How can a food addiction be broken?

    Some smokers and drinkers who are addicted can learn to use these substances in moderation. Yet, no one questions that those substances are addictive.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
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    Hey... where's this thread heading?
    in_flames.jpg



    OH THE HUMANITY!!!!
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
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    Absolutely. Morbidly obese or crack addict; it's the same difference in my opinion. No one would do that to themselves if there wasn't an addiction at work.

    Morbid Obesity
    http://goo.gl/YVTTkt

    sigh.
    Not the "crack addiction" again.
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
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    Relevant to this thread's interests:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction

    I think the comparison to gambling addiction is apt, save for the fact that gambling isn't necessary for life.

    I don't discount the possibility of specific foods being physically addictive either, but if they are I doubt it's more serious than addiction to caffeine.

    Also, dis gun b gud.

    ETA: I also find it funny that people ALWAYS use crack as an example of physical addiction considering that cocaine (in all its forms) doesn't cause physical dependance (doesn't invalidate the argument, just funny).
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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    NO
    If a drug addict stops using drugs, are they cured of the addiction? What if they just do less of the drug or just do the drugs occasionally, are they still considered an addict?

    Can someone addicted to food quit eating, will they be cured of their addiction? What if they eat less or just eat occasionally, are they still considered an addict? How can a food addiction be broken?

    Some smokers and drinkers who are addicted can learn to use these substances in moderation. Yet, no one questions that those substances are addictive.
    Then those smokers and drinkers are still addicts? You'll never be able to stop eating food, therefore and addict will have to learn discipline and willpower and stop complaining about addicition. You can't quit food cold turkey.
  • 4homer
    4homer Posts: 457 Member
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    Physical addiction? No. Emotional crutch? Sure.

    Please don't take the latter as a put down or a judgement - I don't mean it to be either. I'm just being brutally honest.
    Trust me, I get it and still turn to food from time to time but thankfully I've broken most of my bad eating habits and am still working on the rest of them. I believe anyone can change these behaviors if they truly want to. If you're stressed, bored, bummed, etc, find a different outlet than food.

    Just because you REALLY want to eat something doesn't mean you're addicted to it. That's just a lame excuse.
    /tough love response
    I really like this person said. I think people throw the word addiction around to much and use it as an excuse. The only time anything will change is when you want it. As long as a person keeps using an excuse they are not ready.

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