Over the last few decades, a model of food addiction has gained a lot of weight in our society, through controversial debates that revolve around the question of whether certain foods that have a high calorie content or certain ingredients, such as sugar, have addictive potential. similar to that of substances of abuse. Many people with eating disorders such as obesity or binge eating disorders may present eating patterns that have addictive characteristics, that is, they bear a certain resemblance to drug use disorders, on a biological and behavioral level.
Food addiction has not yet been recognized by diagnostic manuals. However, due to the observation of these patterns in an important part of the population, the evaluation scale was created Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). This psychological test helps diagnose food addiction disorders when three addiction symptoms occur and significant discomfort or deterioration occurs.
If you are interested in knowing the disorder of food addiction, in this Psychology-Online article we will present the food addiction: what it is, symptoms, causes, consequences and treatment.
Food addiction: what is it?
What is food addiction? Food addiction is understood as a chronic and recurring disease, with cerebral implications. The definition of food addiction consists of need to compulsively seek out and consume certain foodswithout taking into account the harmful consequences it presents, such as the health implications of foods with high sugar or fat content.
These addictive behaviors can appear in different eating disorders such as binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa or obesity, and although it is related to obesity, people with normal weight can also suffer from food addiction. They have been recognized neurobiological mechanisms involved In these addictive patterns, however, food addiction has not yet been considered an independent disorder.
Compulsive eaters
People who suffer from food addiction, compulsive eaters, have the need to eat compulsively and when they are not doing so, they think about the next meal, constantly experiencing cravings for certain foods. These people, compulsive eaters, eat large amounts of food for very short periods of time and subsequently, they feel guilty thus.
It should be noted that the behavior of compulsive eaters has a high emotional content, because food is compensation for problems, such as sadness or anxiety. However, just because you satisfy your discomfort with food, you should not consider yourself a person addicted to food. This need is the product of neurobiological mechanisms, since certain foods influence brain systems involved in well-being. However, these foods can contain certain addictive components, causing the development of food addiction.
Causes of food addiction
The causes of food addiction have been related to neurobiological mechanisms. The reward systems are controlled by neurotransmitters responsible for learned behaviors and responsible for responding to pleasant or unpleasant factors. There are certain addictive substances that produce a effect on the limbic system, producing an artificial association of pleasure. If these substances or foods are consumed regularly, they directly affect the limbic system, thereby starting the addiction process. Some foods that can affect this system are sugars or fats. Addictive behaviors affect brain circuits, such as the dopaminergic, opioid, serotonergic and glutamate systems, giving rise to pleasurable sensations.
On the other hand, it should be noted that anxiety plays a fundamental role in the causes of food addiction. When the person is stressed or anxious, their consumption increases and they prefer foods that contain a lot of sugar, high fat or salt content. This set of foods produce a feeling of well-being since its action is similar to that of endorphins. When this feeling of well-being decreases, anxiety appears again due to the guilt of binge eating and the person has the need to eat again, thereby creating a vicious circle. Therefore, the causes of food addiction are:
- Manage anxiety through food.
- The effect of consuming these foods on the brain’s reward system.
- The feelings of guilt.
Symptoms of food addiction
The symptoms of food addiction serve to identify this disorder. The symptoms that compulsive eaters present are the following:
- Eat in large quantities on a recurring basis, at least twice a week for a period of six months or more. Compulsive eaters may eat until they feel uncomfortably full.
- Loss of control. During binge eating, the person feels that he cannot control the action.
- Eating excessively quickly during the binge. The feeling of loss of control is a typical symptom of addictions.
- Eat without real hunger. Eating food even when you are not hungry or full is another symptom of food addiction.
- Eating secretly or alone. This symptom of food addiction is due to the feeling of guilt and shame.
- Gastrointestinal disorders. After binge eating, bloating, gas pain, diarrhea, indigestion or abdominal cramps may appear.
- Culpability. Binge eating can cause compulsive eaters to feel guilty, depressed, or disappointed later.
- Anxiety. Compulsive behavior generates anxiety, but the person cannot stop doing it. This is one of the most characteristic symptoms of food addiction.
- Attempts to brake unsuccessful behavior. Carrying out frequent diets, normally without weight variations.
Consequences of food addiction
The consequences of food addiction are diverse and can be differentiated into psychological consequences and physical consequences.
Regarding the consequences of physical food addiction, the main disease that can arise from binge eating is obesity. Food addiction and obesity can lead to heart problems, the appearance of type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, and certain respiratory disorders can appear.
On the other hand, the psychological consequences of food addiction are various. In addition to generating high peaks of stress, anxiety and guiltfood addiction has been related to the appearance of disorders, such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and the onset of .
How to overcome food addiction: treatment
The treatment of food addiction must be carried out from a complete approach. As we have previously established, food addiction is not based solely on biological factors, but there is a great implication of psychological factors associated with eating behavior. Therefore, its treatment cannot be stipulated solely on a diet to limit behavior and improve lifestyle.
First of all, the treatment of food addiction must be adapted to the individual needs and characteristics of each person, collecting the necessary information to help us understand the root of the addiction and what factors are currently maintaining said behavior. . Once the focus of the problem has been identified, different types of psychotherapy can be used to address it, such as , mindfulness or , among others.
How to overcome food addiction? Yeah anxiety and stress are predisposing factors to these food abuse behaviors, these two factors must be worked on. To do this, it will be necessary to establish the causes that generate this anxiety and stress, work on them and provide the person with strategies to manage these emotions with healthier alternatives, such as physical exercise, relaxation or breathing exercises.
Learning to is very relevant because they can trigger psychological disorders such as mood disorders or anxiety disorders. Furthermore, compulsive eating behaviors generate great feelings of guilt and shame, which must be addressed to work on self-esteem of the person during food addiction treatment.
On the other hand, in addition to the psychological problems that food addiction triggers, major physical complications can appear, so it is essential to draw up a food diet, with dietary and nutritional aspects, carried out by a professional. The goal of this part of food addiction treatment is to teach the person Healthy habits, addictive foods to avoid (such as carbohydrates) and combine the diet with precursor foods and supplements. It will be necessary to carry out a psychoeducational process regarding food, teaching the person to differentiate between the sensations of “hunger” and “appetite” and foods whose content has addictive principles.
Finally, it should be noted that the therapies that are carried out for the remission of behavior can be carried out on an individual level and are very commonly treated in group therapywhich contributes to sharing experiences and thereby reducing shame and guilt regarding the problem.
Food addiction: summary
Next, we show a graphic summary which explains the creation and maintenance of food addiction.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Aguera, Z, et al. (2016). Food addiction: A controversial construct. Med. Psychosom,, 117, 14.
- Meule, A., Von Rezori, V & Blechert, J. (2016). Food addiction and bulimia nervosa. Journal of Drug Addiction, 76, 10.
- Soria, I. (2011). Eating disorders, an addiction? Digital Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, 1, 24.