Food addicts exhibit many of the symptoms as those addicted to drugs and alcohol. Researchers from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale found that persons with addictive eating behaviors "appear to have greater neural activity in regions of the brain that are associated with substance dependence, including elevated activation of reward circuitry in response to food cues, and reduced activation of inhibitory regions in response to food intake, so, anticipation of a delectable treat provided the greatest activation, even more so than getting a taste of it.Experts say there's a lot of stigma surrounding food addiction, including the statement that it's just an excuse for overeating and avoiding personal responsibility. Insteed, it seems that compulsive eating may be driven in part by an enhanced anticipation of food rewards that addicted individuals are more likely to be psychologically and behaviorally reactive to. When normally talking of dependence and addiction, one usually talks about alcohol, drugs or tobacco. But food and sweets can also become addictive.
Food addicts know the feelings of discomfort that hit them when they try to quit their way of eating. Anxiety, sadness, feelings of aversion, vulnerability, impulsiveness, easily influenced by others and by own imperessions, irritability and a strong need for excitement in life.The mechanisms behind food abuse are the same as for other addictions. Key for all addictions is the centre for rewards in our brain. Food also is able to release certain levels of dopamine, the happy chemical, into this centre, just as other drugs do.
Although it may seem that an addiction to heroin, cocaine or alcohol is more dangerous, health experts say an addition to food is just as serious. Obesity is associated with a number of serious health problems as well as raising health care costs. Efforts to change the current food environment may be critical to successful weight loss and prevention efforts since food cues may take on motivational properties similar to drug cues. The current emphasis on personal responsibility as the reason for obesity may have minimal effectiveness as tempting food consumption may be accompanied with a loss-of-control for individuals showing signs of food addiction.
