Category: Food Addiction

Last time, Childhood Obesity News referenced a quotation  by Dr. Vera Tarman to the effect that Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is related to “what is eating you” (emotional and psychological problems). In food addiction, “what you are eating” is the villa …

The acronym BED has nothing to do with sleep. It stands for Binge Eating Disorder, a condition that was found in the old DSM-IV only in its appendix. Since the 1994 publication of that edition of the DSM, nearly 1,000 papers about BED have been publish …

Childhood Obesity News discussed how DSM-5, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, backed off from using the word “addiction” and went to “substance use disorder” and “substance induced disorder.” The A-word app …

According to DSM-5, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, food is not something over which a person can develop a substance use disorder. The recognized disorder-causing substances are alcohol, caffeine, cannab …

Childhood Obesity News has already discussed some aspects of the 24th Congress of the European Childhood Obesity Group, or ECOG 2014, at which Dr. Pretlow presented the address “Treatment of Child/Adolescent Obesity Using the Addiction Model.” Everyone …

The European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) brings together professionals from all over the world, including but not limited to “paediatricians [sic], psychologists, nutritionists, geneticists, physical activity experts, [and] economists….” Founded m …

Even worse than a bigot is a bigot who goads, persuades, or shames others into bigotry. Fat-shaming by proxy, or second-hand fat-shaming, occurs when a nosy friend or relative tries to force-feed someone with their own personal preferences. For instanc …

Childhood Obesity News has been thinking about product liability issues, and has found some very informative reportage from the website Law360 concerning events of last year, when several food companies and the Corn Refiners Association were sued on be …

Despite the failure of the “Cheeseburger Bill” to become federal law, the notion that Big Food is innocent of blame for the obesity epidemic flourished in several states, which have passed their own versions. Had the idea not spontaneously occurred to …

Last time, we learned from mental health counselor William Anderson how the big five American cigarette manufacturers were found guilty of… …racketeering, conspiring to lie to the public about the health dangers and addictive quality of their produ …

Here is an interesting observation from Dr. Pretlow, an insight gleaned from the pilot studies of the W8Loss2Go smartphone app: We initially thought that processed food wasn’t that much of a problem for obese kids, that it was mainly excessive amounts …

One year ago, during Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, the most recent Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit was attended by nearly 300 state and local policy makers, and even some representatives of federal agencies. Other advocates of childhood obesit …

The journal Childhood Obesity (Volume: 10 Issue 4: August 1, 2014) published an editorial by Dr. Stephen R. Daniels (University of Colorado School of Medicine) and Dr. Aaron S. Kelly (University of Minnesota Medical School). “Pediatric Severe Obesity: …

Considering how many people fall prey to addiction, and considering how many potentially addictive things are in the world — including food we eat every day — it might seem as if science should know a little more about it by now. But many questions …

Michael Prager, author of Fat Boy Thin Man, carried on a conversation throughout several blog posts with Dr. Christopher Ochner, a research scientist concerned with obesity and nutrition. One of Dr. Ochner’s accomplishments was to become, in 2009, the …

Dr. Pretlow has always emphasized the importance of identifying problem foods, and there is a very good reason for that recommendation. Many formerly obese patients, when faced with the seemingly overwhelming task of cutting down on food, have found an …

Depression can be caused by interpersonal difficulties, and can in turn can cause further difficulties in getting along with other people. For people prone to overeating, this can result in a vicious cycle where social malaise causes unhealthy eating p …

Cheese appears to be addictive because of the casein it contains, and it definitely contains a lot of fat. So why does the government collude with corporations that want to stuff more of it down our throats? In a 2003 article, Dr. Neal Barnard traced s …

For people who cope by eating the world, different emotional needs bring out different food cravings. Dr. Pretlow says: The book, Life is Hard, Food is Easy, by Linda Spangle, notes that specific types of foods are preferred to ease sadness versus stre …

Childhood Obesity News has been reflecting on the two aspects of Kellogg. Although legally they are separate entities, on a meta-level the different parts of Kellogg form a huge mythical being. With one hand, the giant collects money from people who li …

Over at Big Food Inc., “personal responsibility” is a favorite theme. Manufacturers do their best to make snacks and junk food addictive, then turn around and shake their collective finger at the public. They scold us for not accepting enough personal …

From 2005 until June of 2010, a publication existed under the name Obesity and Weight Management. Starting in August of that year, its focus narrowed and its name changed. Childhood Obesity announced its intention to be the premier journal concerned wi …

People who have reclaimed their health by losing large amounts of weight often have stories to share, sometimes about the turning points in their lives. The first one, courtesy of Reddit.com, comes from a 23-year-old former obese child who lost 180 pou …

In an earlier post, Childhood Obesity News looked at the stages for adopting positive change, as explained by New York Times guest blogger A.D.A.M. This is probably the most important precept to keep in mind: The decision to adopt a healthier behavior …

For standup comic and TV personality Paul Gilmartin, the problem was alcohol, but as we know, addiction is the same phenomenon across the board, and the substance is almost incidental. His other problem was that he had no problems, a paradox he explain …

Most people who cause a media stir don’t wait for months to answer critics, but Maria Kang did. Last October she reacted to something that had happened a year before. Eight months after giving birth, Kang posted on Facebook a picture of herself with th …

When the Centers for Disease Control released, through the Journal of the American Medical Association, news that the obesity rate among American children in the 2- to 5-year age group had decreased by 43%, there was widespread rejoicing. Childhood Obe …

How many country singers does it take to change a lightbulb? Two. One to change the bulb, and one to sing about how good the old one was. Okay, how about this version? How many obese children does it take to change a lightbulb? Only one, but the lightb …

Against all odds, young actor Ricki Lake got some movie roles after Hairspray despite being overweight. But portraying an obese teen in a specific role where obesity was part of the plot was one thing, and being an obese adult actor going out for gener …

Research shows that obese young people have a significantly lower quality of life rating — the same quality of life rating as young cancer patients who are on chemotherapy. Ostensibly, the low quality of life of obese youth is due to their being obes …