Category: Food Addiction

In all the years that Dr. Pretlow has worked with obese children, boredom as the reason for overeating has been a persistent theme.

Stress and boredom are two of the top reasons for gratuitous eating. In the COVID-19 shuttering-in, a lot of people share those feelings.

Who knows where history’s current trajectory will lead? Elective surgery patients are stranded in a nerve-racking limbo for an indeterminate amount of time.

“News” about prominent people with weight problems (real or imaginary) will never stop appealing to the masses.

Can the displacement mechanism serve as a basis for a weight-loss intervention? Research shows cognitive behavioral therapy can help with food withdrawal.

It’s not the substance that causes the addiction but life events. So, what are the implications of this displacement mechanism construct for obesity treatment?

What causes addiction, especially the non-chemical kind? This involves an examination of displacement behaviors.

Obesity shows strong indications of being an addiction, but what causes addiction, especially the non-chemical kind?

We have all heard of “buyer’s remorse.” A similar emotion is “overeating regret,” the self-abnegation that can follow a food binge, or even a single dessert.

Let’s look at Dr. Pretlow’s presentation, “Food/Eating Addiction and Displacement Theory,” from the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference in Oman.

For children and teens, we see here increasing evidence for the acceptability and viability of an addiction model treatment of obesity.

Bariatric surgery is major surgery that radically and permanently changes a child’s anatomy. Can a child genuinely consent to such a life-changing procedure?

If a person was unable to cope with things like dietary restriction before bariatric surgery, how are they a good bet for coping with what comes after surgery?

If the patient’s obesity is medically correctable, that is a contraindication, otherwise known as a reason not to choose surgery.

Many people agree that childhood obesity is a social justice issue, and should be addressed by policy makers, the education system, and parents. But how?

Why should we avoid food additives? It is pretty clear that some, if not all, of them affect the body in ways that enable obesity.

A body-focused repetitive behavior, stress-induced eating may become compulsive overeating and lead to obesity.

If displacement activity is the basis of addictions, including eating addiction, how might we treat this?

Are displacement activities similar to, or even the same as, addictions? And can they be treated with anti-addiction methods?

The body-focused repetitive behavior, or BFRB, is a displacement activity that carries a heavy penalty, namely, obesity.

We’re not here to parent-blame, but if things got out of control the first time, how different can the circumstances be after the second bariatric surgery?

The underlying reasons for child obesity are not understood, and bariatric surgery is a very poor substitute for comprehension and prevention.

If eating makes us feel safe, then in an effort to erase our bad feelings, we can eat until it turns into something that looks very much like an addiction.

All addictions have one purpose, to avoid pain. All displacement behaviors have one purpose, to avoid pain.

There are behaviors that animals and people might engage in to relieve the discomfort of a threat, whether physical or intangible. This includes comfort eating.

On reading Anne M. Fletcher’s book, “Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems,” you might notice the parallels with overeating and obesity.

Emotional eating is probably the biggest cause of childhood obesity while labeling is just another word for name-calling, and name-calling never ends well.

Let’s look at some thoughts that have been voiced and recorded about the role of parents in their children’s recovery from obesity.

When addictive behaviors are the issue, the surroundings and the people in those surroundings are crucial. This applies to food addiction and obesity as well.

A continuation of the series chronicling the quest for knowledge about the central nervous pathways responsible for establishing metabolic control.