Category: Food Addiction

The food addiction paradigm is a primary cause of the childhood and adult obesity epidemic. Highly pleasurable foods, such as junk food and fast food, can be addictive. Posts in this section explore food addiction and its impact on obesity.

Relapse — Word of Dread

April 22, 2022
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Sometimes, beating a food habit requires a great deal of ingenuity, or it might wreck a life in other ways. Food is survival, we can’t live without it.

More History of a Concept

April 21, 2022
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How much does it matter whether or not the client is invested in the addiction paradigm? For one, a recovering addict has to acknowledge the loss of control.

Some Addictive History

April 20, 2022
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The longer society continues arguing policy and regulatory points, the longer we can put off needing to really do something.

Food Addiction Angles

April 19, 2022
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The Food Addiction Institute (FAI) says that 87 million Americans are obese, and maybe half of those fulfill the FAI’s definition of addicted.

Addiction and Displacement

April 11, 2022
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It’s not the food that is addictive, it’s the eating. This offers hope that the displacement mechanism may be useful in the treatment of eating addiction.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Addiction

April 8, 2022
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The big difference between overeating and the overuse of heroin, or even caffeine, is that a person can live without heroin and caffeine, but not without food.

Ingestive Behavior Gone Awry

April 7, 2022
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Leaders in addiction science concur that addiction and obesity both reflect the consequences of ingestive behavior gone awry.

The Industry As an Agent of Addiction

March 28, 2022
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More the substance addiction vs. behavioral addiction debate, how it relates to childhood obesity, and how much the Big Food industry might be responsible.

The Unpleasant Secrets of Coke

March 25, 2022
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Here we are in an obesogenic environment with a lot of obesogenic habits, and more to eat in a day than our great-grandpas had in a week.

Big Food and the One-Two Punch

March 24, 2022
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Unlike some other influencers, who specialize in only one type, Big Food not only produces the substance but helps to form and mold the behavior.

They Knew It Was Bad

March 23, 2022
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If the food business is a game, we the customers are the pawns. If it is a war, we the consumers are the casualties.

One Food Addiction Factor, Continued Yet Again

March 22, 2022
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Is food addictive in the same sense as heroin and cocaine? Or in some other way? Or in more than one way? And if so, what are we supposed to do about it?

One Food Addiction Factor, Continued Twice

March 21, 2022
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A particularly revelatory and pertinent story was that of Howard Moskowitz, a psychologist with wizard-like capabilities in product optimization.

One Food Addiction Factor, Continued

March 18, 2022
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The Big Food industry was catching heat and tried to figure out how to deal with the emerging obesity epidemic. But very little came of it.

One Food Addiction Factor

March 17, 2022
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We’ve been looking at food addiction as substance addiction, or as a behavioral addiction. But the possibilities do not end at two.

Food Addiction and the Foundations of Discussion

March 16, 2022
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Because we are human, some see food addiction as a societal problem, others don’t see the connection between FA and childhood obesity.

Lab Rats and Viet Vets — Two Unconventional Teachers

March 15, 2022
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Some research shows that substance abuse is a question of personal vulnerability, whether it is physically based on genetic heritage or is psychological.

Lessons From Viet Vets

March 14, 2022
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Veteran addicts had not become users in their own familiar environments, so many recovered when they came home. Let’s think about it in light of food addiction?

Is Food the New Demon Drug?

March 11, 2022
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More recent research with different methods has shown deficiencies in research that concluded that all rats and people who use addictive drugs become addicted.

The Genesis of Some Beliefs About Addiction

March 9, 2022
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In reviewing the history of beliefs and research about food addiction, we can see how the significance of an animal experiment might be misconstrued.

Roots of Food Addiction Objections

March 8, 2022
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For decades, the debate has persisted over the validity of “food addiction” as a thing that medical science should deal with or even acknowledge.

Outspoken Addicts

March 7, 2022
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Many patients, post bariatric surgery, develop alcoholism “serious enough to warrant in-patient treatment.”

The Return of the Thousand-Pound Sisters

March 4, 2022
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Amy and Tammy Slaton, morbidly obese adult sisters who won an eating contest and a TV reality show contract, are back.

Addiction in the Realm of Food

March 3, 2022
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Science has been looking at different angles, including brain activity, genetics, similarity to opioid addiction, cross addiction, and overactive hormones.

Addiction and Hard Questions

March 2, 2022
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Is food abuse the same as food dependence? And doesn’t that phrase sound slightly absurd? After all, 100% of humans are food-dependent.

Branches of the Question Tree

March 1, 2022
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Is there such a thing as food addiction? Is it a substance addiction or a behavioral addiction, or a combination of the two? Or something else entirely?

Still Hooked

February 28, 2022
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It has been a while since addiction was discussed here, so the object of the next few posts is to catch up with ideas that people have had about the subject.

Thousand-Pound Sisters

March 30, 2021
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Sister Amy and Tammy Slaton became known in 2014 by taking part in the “Chubby Bunny Challenge.” Then they became stars of a TV reality show, “1000-Lb Sisters.”

‘Tis the Season to be Traumatized

December 24, 2020
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Let’s face it, for some people, having a less social holiday season this year could be a much-needed respite.

Government Alarm and Even Weirder Mukbang

December 11, 2020
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Just when it seemed that mukbang could not get any more bizarre, a new wrinkle appeared, featuring only the sound effects of eating for ASMR devotees.

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Profiles: Kids Struggling with Weight

Profiles: Kids Struggling with Obesity top bottom

The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources