Food addiction is different from other eating disorders. It does not involve eating spells for a couple of hours at a time nor is it in response to an emotional event such as a death of a family member. Food addiction causes overeating which leads to obesity. Obesity has been linked to health problems such as diabetes.
What is Food Addiction?
Food addiction is a constant desire to eat. It is obsessive and compulsive thoughts about food and planning meals. These behaviors are often coupled with withdrawal symptoms from when food is not eaten. Some research studies have linked dopamine, which is a pleasure chemical in your brain that causes drug addiction, to overeating. For example, a study done at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory revealed that a simple display of food to subjects caused a significant elevation in brain dopamine.
Affects on Health
Food addiction has been implicated in chronic overeating, binge eating and obesity. Overeating may cause you to become morbidly overweight or obese. You may develop weight-related diseases including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and arthritis. You may even become clinically depressed, develop a dependency or cravings.
Problems With Treatment
Treatment for food addiction is complex because there is no standard diagnostic definition per American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Without a psychological diagnoses, food addiction can not be billed to insurance; however, psychologist still treat the condition. The science to support it as an addiction is growing. Some scientist believe ingredients in food such as sweets, carbohydrates, fats, sweet/fat combinations, and possibly processed and high salt foods prompt the same brain receptors that are triggered by addictive drugs.
Food Addiction Solutions
Support programs that model 12-steps such as Overeaters Anonymous and cognitive behavioral therapy along with nutritional counseling seem promising in treating food addiction. Long-term cognitive therapy is used to reverse behaviors that feed addiction. Pychoeducational and pharmacological treatment have been used to help patients cope with food addiction. There is no specific way to screen for food addiction. Screening tools are currently being developed to identify eating pattern difficulties that seriously compromise weight management efforts. Talk to your health care provider if you struggle with chronic food cravings, compulsive overeating and binge eating.
