Do you believe in food addiction?

SunofaBeach14

The idea of physical addiction to any food is laughable.

Binge eating disorder and other issues with self control? Sure.

If you're looking for an excuse to fail though be my guest. Just remember that even alcoholics stop drinking. I'm pretty sure you can find a way to eat less.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

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.

Pretty much this.

However, I don't have an "addictive personality" so I'm not sure I'm one to say. I've never had anything that I would classify as an addiction.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I believe the studies that you are referring to were done on rats, so I would take those with a grain of salt….unless you have some human studies to refer us to ..?

Did you friend die from too much drug usage, too much sugar intake, or a combination of being an out of shape drug addict? Probably hard to say at the end of the day...

I can understand why you would take the study with a grain of salt, but think about why rats are used. They have a remarkably similar brain chemistry as homo sapiens. So I think that gives the study more weight.

I believe this is generally why animal studies aren't given much weight.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061215090857.htm

wheird

I do not believe in food addiction. While I -may- be proven wrong some day, I believe that most people who think they have a food addiction just have behavioral issues or emotional issues that they are masking with food intake.

MillyPoo125

Absolutely! I think I'm addicted to food. That's why I've struggled with weight loss at times.

MillyPoo125

I do not believe in food addiction. While I -may- be proven wrong some day, I believe that most people who think they have a food addiction just have behavioral issues or emotional issues that they are masking with food intake.

I disagree. But to each their own

craftywitch_63

As a food addict I can tell you food is addictive. I've eaten thousands of calories in one sitting in a type of "blackout" like an alcoholic. In fact, food addiction is worse. If a person never shoots heroine or takes a shot of whiskey, they will not suffer, in fact, are healthier because of it. I cannot be "abstinet" from food for the rest of my life.

Addiction is defined by Webster as, "a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction

From WebMD

"The idea that a person can be addicted to food has recently gotten more support from science.

Experiments in animals and humans show that, for some people, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are also activated by food, especially highly palatable foods. Highly palatable foods are foods rich in:
Sugar
Fat
Salt

Like addictive drugs, highly palatable foods trigger feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine. Once people experience pleasure associated with increased dopamine transmission in the brain's reward pathway from eating certain foods, they quickly feel the need to eat again.

The reward signals from highly palatable foods may override other signals of fullness and satisfaction. As a result, people keep eating, even when they're not hungry.

People who show signs of food addiction may also develop a tolerance to food. They eat more and more, only to find that food satisfies them less and less."


From WebMD http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-food-addiction

Slacker16

I could be wrong, but I can't imagine that the small percentage of marijuana addicts would waste it by baking brownies.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I get way more baked from edibles than from smoking. PITA to make though.

I believe the studies that you are referring to were done on rats, so I would take those with a grain of salt….unless you have some human studies to refer us to ..?

Here are some (human) studies and reviews showing similarities on the neurological level between binging and drug addiction. I don't think there are any for specific foods (unless you count caffeine).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666309005339 (skip to neurobiological parallels)
http://koreascience.or.kr/article/ArticleFullRecord.jsp?cn=E1MBB7_2013_v46n11_519
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098897/

vjohn04

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.

Pretty much this.

However, I don't have an "addictive personality" so I'm not sure I'm one to say. I've never had anything that I would classify as an addiction.

^and this for me too. Though I smoked for 8 years.

How can someone who isn't an addict possibly know how an addict feels?

craftywitch_63

The idea of physical addiction to any food is laughable.

Binge eating disorder and other issues with self control? Sure.

If you're looking for an excuse to fail though be my guest. Just remember that even alcoholics stop drinking. I'm pretty sure you can find a way to eat less.

Alcoholics are able to control their addiction by NEVER taking another drink. That's the only thing that's found to work. Same with drug addicts. Please tell me how I can stop eating and NEVER take another bite of food for the rest of my life?

Becoming a "Breatharian" isn't an option.

wheird

I do not believe in food addiction. While I -may- be proven wrong some day, I believe that most people who think they have a food addiction just have behavioral issues or emotional issues that they are masking with food intake.

I disagree. But to each their own

I support your right to be wrong. :drinker:

vjohn04

i hate these threads with a passion that burns like no other.

SunofaBeach14

The idea of physical addiction to any food is laughable.

Binge eating disorder and other issues with self control? Sure.

If you're looking for an excuse to fail though be my guest. Just remember that even alcoholics stop drinking. I'm pretty sure you can find a way to eat less.

Alcoholics are able to control their addiction by NEVER taking another drink. That's the only thing that's found to work. Same with drug addicts. Please tell me how I can stop eating and NEVER take another bite of food for the rest of my life?

Becoming a "Breatharian" isn't an option.

Have you considered other diagnoses?

RhineDHP

I'm gonna say no.

http://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/338310

Slacker16

Alcoholics are able to control their addiction by NEVER taking another drink. That's the only thing that's found to work. Same with drug addicts. Please tell me how I can stop eating and NEVER take another bite of food for the rest of my life?

Becoming a "Breatharian" isn't an option.

Actually, if you think of _binging_ as the addiction rather than of _food_ as the addiction, the analogy works much better.

Hence why I linked to the definition of a behavioural addiction earlier in this thread.

ndj1979

i hate these threads with a passion that burns like no other.

maybe you should keep these threads in your garage so it won't be so cold in there for your workouts…bahahahahahahaha

ndj1979

these threads always turn to discussions of sugar…so before it even happens don't come in here and say you cut out all sugar but still eat fruit and honey ….please for the love of god do not do this!!!!!!!!!!!!

AbsolutelyAnnie

I believe that people who consume a lot of sugar, caffeine, etc., can experience real physical withdrawal symptoms when they eliminate these items from their diet. This indicates addiction.

I do think that many people use the word addiction when really they are talking about disordered eating.

Finally, I believe the argument that there is no such thing as food addiction because we need to eat to survive don't understand that addictions have everything to do with taking something beneficial and twisting it into something unhealthy.

xmichaelyx

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?

It doesn't matter what anyone here thinks. This isn't a matter of opinion; "addiction" is a medical term with a specific meaning.

Medically, you can be addicted to absolutely anything that gives you pleasure. This of course can include food.
Addiction is defined by continued use in the face of adverse consequences. This of course can include food.

Google can find you a mountain of good, well-sources information on all this. Begin here: http://www.helpguide.org/harvard/addiction_hijacks_brain.htm

Alcoholics are able to control their addiction by NEVER taking another drink. That's the only thing that's found to work. Same with drug addicts.

This is a childish view of addiction, and is both incorrect and dangerous. I'm an alcoholic. I drink frequently. I just have to be careful about it. Not all alcoholics are as lucky as me.

SunofaBeach14

Alcoholics are able to control their addiction by NEVER taking another drink. That's the only thing that's found to work. Same with drug addicts. Please tell me how I can stop eating and NEVER take another bite of food for the rest of my life?

Becoming a "Breatharian" isn't an option.

Actually, if you think of _binging_ as the addiction rather than of _food_ as the addiction, the analogy works much better.

Hence why I linked to the definition of a behavioural addiction earlier in this thread.

Behavioral addiction? Sure.

I think it's important to note while this thread begins to burn, that just because someone says that there isn't a physical addiction to food that there isn't a problem. It's not a binary decision between physical addiction and nothing. There are other diagnoses.