Category: Food Addiction

It seems that in its simplest form, drive-reduction theory has to do with physiological (bodily) needs. It’s more complicated though.

Displacement behavior is a biobehavioral mechanism that allows an animal to deal with situations that cannot readily be faced, avoided, or thwarted.

Addiction can foster some really twisted thinking, and people who are hooked on eating are no exception. Children are not exempt, either.

Guilt is an arrow; shame is a thick obscuring fog. Guilt is objective and can be disproven; shame is subjective and can only be dispelled.

Guilt as an emotional “first responder” can be beneficial. It can serve as a “note to self” that behavior needs to be corrected.

Shame can trigger a dependency on alcohol or drugs as a method of escape, which is no help when dependency on a substance is the underlying problem.

Many people spend their lives drowning in guilt and shame about something or other, and that is a problem in itself.

Maintaining an addiction will cause a person to give up the activities they used to care about unless purposes can be combined.

We have been talking about the concepts of food addiction and eating addiction, and what a person might contribute to the likelihood of becoming addicted.

Some countries have a fortunate genetic heritage that leaves their feel-good genes unfettered, making them happy countries. Let’s look at the inner workings.

Do certain genes exert influence over a person’s likelihood of developing an addiction to food and/or eating? It does seem likely.

Heredity influences the body and brain to have certain attitudes and behaviors around food and eating. This is significant for many reasons.

What other substances and processes can influence our moods and cravings? And how does displacement behavior resemble addictive behavior?

As it turns out, the topic of genetics and the long-cherished hope of discovering “the” obesity gene might throw some light on this puzzle from another angle.

So, there can be several kinds of people: addicted but not obese; addicted and obese; obese but not addicted; neither obese and nor addicted.

If treating eating addiction according to an addiction model is effective, it seems sensible to do that while still figuring out the big picture.

One part of the multi-faceted conversation says that all or some foods can contain substances that act like hard drugs in the human body.

To what extent is the propensity to become food-addicted (or eating-addicted) inherent in the person?

Let’s talk about overdoses of ingredients that may be fine in small amounts, like salt, plus a vast assortment of chemical additives.

While there may be little evidence for the presence of addictive substances in natural foods, the food industry has a few tricks up its sleeve.

If some foods are addictive, why isn’t everyone hooked on them? In the realm of treatment, how do we get past the irrefutable fact that nobody can quit eating?

There’s still no convincing proof that foods or food components should be considered addictive in the same sense as, for instance, cocaine.

Debate continues about whether some foods can be addictive in the same sense as drugs or alcohol. Is the addictiveness inherent in the food or in the person?

One belief is that what is called food addiction is actually a subset of drug addiction, but it’s not a blanket truth.

By and large, it has been difficult to pinpoint addictive substances in the food itself, although, of course, some results have been quite clear.

In discussions of food addiction and recovery, one of the first principles is moderation. However, some believe it works, and others say it is impossible.

We live in an environment that creates food addicts on purpose.

It appears to Dr. Pretlow, as well as to leaders in addiction science, that addiction and obesity both stem from one source.

One school of thought holds that along with letting withdrawal happen, it is important to take active detox measures at the same time.

Apparently, food addiction/eating addiction are areas where consensus is an elusive goal.