Food addiction, Over eating is very similar to Alcoholism and other addictions..
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Absolutely it is an addiction! In many regards (for me) battling food addcition has been tougher to get over than one other addiction I had in the past. The reason? You can't just go without food. We need it to survive. I go to over-eaters anonymous for support. It's not only hugely obese people who attend either. Several normal weight persons are there who range from stay at home parents to school teachers to medical professionals. It's one of those things that so many people have and deal with but so many are ashamed about. Seek help. It's out there.0
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Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
agreed ….
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….0 -
but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
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I am not in favor of the addiction model for food. I'm ADDICTED to caffeine (as in withdrawal symptoms when I cannot get my dose). I am strongly habituated to overeating.
To me, there's a significant difference. It's not that the habituation of behaviors cannot be problematic. Goodness knows it can. But while I could abstain from caffeine were I to choose to break the addiction (and I don't. Thank goodness for socially acceptable additions) I can't abstain from food.0 -
but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
I don't think anyone here is disputing the fact that over eating can be destructive....one of the mods here told his story....trust me we get it.
And yes it can be difficult to over come but once you overcome the underlying emotional/mental issues it stops...not so much for an actual addiciton.
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Agree^Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
Yeah you can't compare food disorders with the kind of addiction brought about by such narcotics. But I wasn't trying to and I don't think the OP was either. Just because it is like an addiction and it can be quite severe doesn't mean it's severity matches that of the substances that cause behaviors like you mention. Very few people would do the stuff you describe for caffeine or tobacco. And yes no one has much trouble in acknowledging the addictive properties of those substances. You don't need to be heroine to be classified as "addictive".
But clearly people need to be actually insane with need before you lot would find it in your heart to be helpful and understanding. Eating disorders are a major problem. Yes it doesn't compare to heroine or crack addiction. But that doesn't trivialize it.
Cos I can tell you i responded to all your scornful arrogant types by trying and trying and trying. And in the end I never had any measurable success. In the end fixing my eating disorder made it easy. Just trying isn't the solution. But I do wonder why people are so resistant to the idea of obesity as a symptom rather than a cause. Personally I think it's because people who aren't obese like to sneer at people who are. They don't want to think that perhaps that person might have a problem. They want t think of their fellow human beings as just greedy pigs. Because it makes them feel superior.
I mean sure greedy self indulgent types exist. But if you really think that every or even most obese people are this type then you are deluded.
But that is exactly what the OP did...
Calling it an addiction is exactly that comparing it to other real addictions.
We all have issues and often use food to compensate but that doesn't make us "addicted" to food. It means we have found a coping mechanism that we are comfortable with.
Eating disorders are a mental issue not a physically addictive issue. Don't confuse the two.
Once you deal with the underlying mental issue often times the over and/or under eating is done.
As for doing things for coffee or the "smokes" sure I have. I have seen mothers give up buying milk and bread for their babies so they can have smokes. I've seen teenagers not buy lunch (with money from mom and dad) so that they can have their smokes...
I have seen people spend their last 5$ on a half a pack and a coffee...
But because these things are not as expensive as alcohol and drugs it typically doesn't reach the proportions as other addictive items, but for people without lots of money yup it does.
You cannot put food in a category where the actual substance is known to be "addictive" through science.
For me an addictive substance is one where regardless of who you are if you use that substance enough you will become so dependent on it that you have altered brain chemistry, physical cravings where you are actually ill if you don't get that substance...
Food does not fall into that category.
Your argument is weak.
Do you get ill if you don't get food ... Yes, In fact you die.
If food where too expensive would people do anything to obtain it ... Yes, and often they have. People have demonstrably killed, prostituted themselves and committed any amount of crime in order to get food in a situation where those actions are required. Hell people will very often eat each other before starving to death.
Do people make irrational monetary decision about food. Yes I've seen that quite a few times. A friend of mine gets pizza every night. And often has no money for gas, electricity, rent etc. If he just bought cheap food at the store he wouldn't get in such trouble.
As far as quoting science goes I already did say that they weren't technically the same thing. Or of the same severity as something like crack addiction. But as far as symptoms modality and treatment go it's pretty much the same.
Nor was tobacco or caffeine touted as an addiction beyond abuse. Simply that it is an addiction that is often controlled by many people. Who live with it successfully. As food is. Well it is and it isn't.
Technically it is not an addiction. But when you look at the treatment and symptoms of eating disorders and how it correlates to addictive substances. It really might as well be. All you are really doing is nit picking semantics.
not really. If you don't get enough food you die. But if you don't get that extra whopper you won't die.
I find it interesting you bring up these "rare" circumstances to prove your point...eating people (how often does that happen), starvation due to war or famine...??? you are definately reaching. Pizza instead of gas doesn't equate to addiciton ...*rolls eyes* that is called lack of forward thinking.
symptoms, modality and treatment are not the same for overeating and heroine addicts...
please. When an overeater goes into convulsions because they can't have an extra serving film it please...
But you are bound and determine to defend your position that they are "the same" so you go ahead and blame it on an addiction...me I will blame my over eating on unresolved emotional and mental issues that I have since over come and therefore can stop using food as comfort.
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
the difference is not semantic.
Eating disorders are mental issues unresolved emotional issues...deal with them it's done.
True addictions are physical and even after the "underlying" issues are dealt with the physical addiction is still there.
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
the difference is not semantic.
Eating disorders are mental issues unresolved emotional issues...deal with them it's done.
True addictions are physical and even after the "underlying" issues are dealt with the physical addiction is still there.
agree. Sitting in treatment with people with true addictions all look at me like how do I do want I do and not fail.
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
But so many of these 'disorders' you refer to are just a lack of willpower. Disorders affect a minority. Otherwise, technically, it wouldnt be a disorder. It would be common place.
When is lack of willpower going to be classed as a disorder?
And you are also ignoring the wider scope, that 'food addiction' for many is just a comfortable excuse. Each person who battles weight loss thinks they have a unique set of circumstances and will use 'food addiction', 'low metabolism' or something similar to keep themselves happy.
The quicker the overweight person can see these excuses for what they are, the better. Unfortunately, this is not part of the overall culture.-2 -
Well, now, I don't buy fatness=weakness, exactly, either.
Nor do I think that the person is unilaterally undisciplined. I enjoy considerable professional success in IT in an environment where only the self-starters manage to make it.
No-one is perfectly disciplined in all areas of their lives.0 -
Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
This^
OP I will have 12 years sobriety come January and I GUARANTEE you, passing up a whopper is a hell of a LOT easier than passing up booze!
A true alcoholic is born that way prior to ever taking a drink. Their bodies break up the acetaldehydes differently than the non-alcoholic. Are you going to sit there and tell me that someone overweight breaks up their food differently and therefore has to have it? Are you going to go through withdrawals because you don't eat a donut? Are you going to watch your friends that can't stop eating, even though they know the consequences die? NO!0 -
You guys took this way out of context. I was merely stating there are similarities. Not that it is identical nor is it as serious as alcohol or narcotics. Coming from a family where my mother is an alcoholic severely, and now in recovery and my father quit meth, and heroine when I was a teenager....I know a thing or two.0
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Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!-4
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CiciRoscoe wrote: »Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!
no it's not...you don't get to decide that either.
a quote from your OPNow food addiction may not be as severe but ... is it? Maybe
Right there you said "may not" or is it? and concluded it might be....and since your parents were addicts shame on you for equating your issues with food to an actual addiction.
The underlying issues may be similiar but the effects are not.0 -
Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
And you are still ignoring my points and misquoting me to try and prove yourself right I have already said this.
Severity of eating disorders is not or at least not in my experience as severe as a powerfully addictive narcotic e.g heroine. At least not unless we talk starvation. If you want to ignore what I'm saying to try and make yourself sound clever then I won't bother with you for much longer. You don't want to discuss you just want to soapbox your opinion. If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher. Compare it to something like cigarettes or caffeine and unless the eating disorder is very mild the eating disorder crowd has it way worse. But this isn't supposed to be a pity party. Are people with eating disorders not allowed to use the word because it takes away from the achievements of reformed drug addicts or something? What kind of sick world view is that?
You are one of those peoples that confuses being honest and direct with being rude and arrogant. All you are doing is forcing other people to adhere to your definitions of things. Probably because you look down on those who have gotten obese and cite an eating disorder as some or all of the reason for their condition. You think they are copping out. I mean after all why else would you continue this ridiculous debate over the meaning of a word. I am quite sure you know full well the point I am trying to make. You are not stupid. However you insist on arguing semantics because .. shock horror it might turn out that the fatties you look down on might have a reason for being how they are. Then you can't look down on em from your pedestal anymore.
There are lazy people out there who eat too much, most of them are better human beings than you .. good day.
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Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
Also agree!
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Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
And you are still ignoring my points and misquoting me to try and prove yourself right I have already said this.
Severity of eating disorders is not or at least not in my experience as severe as a powerfully addictive narcotic e.g heroine. At least not unless we talk starvation. If you want to ignore what I'm saying to try and make yourself sound clever then I won't bother with you for much longer. You don't want to discuss you just want to soapbox your opinion. If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher. Compare it to something like cigarettes or caffeine and unless the eating disorder is very mild the eating disorder crowd has it way worse. But this isn't supposed to be a pity party. Are people with eating disorders not allowed to use the word because it takes away from the achievements of reformed drug addicts or something? What kind of sick world view is that?
You are one of those peoples that confuses being honest and direct with being rude and arrogant. All you are doing is forcing other people to adhere to your definitions of things. Probably because you look down on those who have gotten obese and cite an eating disorder as some or all of the reason for their condition. You think they are copping out. I mean after all why else would you continue this ridiculous debate over the meaning of a word. I am quite sure you know full well the point I am trying to make. You are not stupid. However you insist on arguing semantics because .. shock horror it might turn out that the fatties you look down on might have a reason for being how they are. Then you can't look down on em from your pedestal anymore.
There are lazy people out there who eat too much, most of them are better human beings than you .. good day.
This guy? Cause you know me personally at all? Because responses online carry any emotion at all... You seem to like to see yourself type big long "POINTS" so you can feel as though you are some how superior. That is fine!
You are right I won't continue the conversation with you! That is for sure. I was not saying it is IDENTICAL nor that the urge was as powerful as meth, cocaine, heroine etc. I am not stupid. However you seem to know who I am. Right? Better human beings out there and all.
I agree with many of these posters who make statements that are accurate and backed up by FACT. If you want to assume to know me, make opinions about me that are far from the truth then NO, I won't listen to you because I know who I am.
I ALSO FIND IT REALLY FUNNY YOU CALL IT A REDICULOUS DEBATE YET ARE STILL DEBATING. Rofl.... you are the one debating. I made an observation... compared similarities. Not once did I say "I am an expert know all." nor did I say "It is as powerful as a NARCOTIC wow. Read please!-4 -
ridiculous***0
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