FOOD ADDICTIONAllison Bossong and Elizabeth West

What Is A Food Addiction? A disease which causes loss of control

over the ability to stop eating certain foods.

It’s a very serious problem and it’s one of the main reasons people can’t control themselves around certain foods.

Research shows that for some people pleasure centers in the brain are activated by food especially highly palatable foods.

Biological Causes Food addiction involves the same pleasure

centers of the brain as drug addiction. Over time, the brain develops a physical

craving for these highly palatable foods.

Biological Causes These foods trigger rewards signals from

the pleasure center that often override the signals of fullness and satisfaction.

Addicts develop a tolerance to food so they have to eat more because it satisfies them less.

Food Addiction Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amoF

gf-v0Ow&feature=youtu.be

Symptoms of Food Addiction Physical

Eating more than planned in one sitting Eating even when not hungry Eating to the point of being ill

Emotional Feeling guilty after eating, but continuing to eat

anyways Emotional binge-eating

Social Eating alone due to embarrassment or shame Avoiding social situations due to appearance

Impacts on Health Can lead to diseases such as:

Obesity Type 2 diabetes Heart disease Cancer Alzheimer’s Arthritis

Emotional and social impacts on health

Food Addiction Statistics The dean of Yale University medical

school published that 50% of obese, 30% of the overweight, and 20% of the normal adults in a randomized sample were food addicted.

If this study recommended the US population, there would be approximately 70 million food addicted adults.

Common Misconceptions All people that struggle with food

addictions are obese. False: it does play a role in obesity, but

normal-weight people also struggle with food addiction.

Common Misconceptions Eating a specific food every day is a

strong indicator of food addiction False: It is only considered a food

addiction if the dependence on the food is characterized by compulsive and uncontrollable behaviors that occur at the expense of other daily activities

Commonly Addictive Foods Sweets

The high amount of sugar in sweets triggers an increase in dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain.

Starches Carbohydrates quickly break down quickly

to release sugar into the bloodstream which also increases dopamine levels in the brain.

Top 10 Most Addictive Foods

Recovery Unlike drug addicts, food addicts can’t

simply eliminate their drug of choice because food is a basic need.

Food Addicts Anonymous (FAA) and Overeaters Anonymous (OA)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Medication

References Cited Goldberg, Joseph. "Food Addiction Signs and Treatments."

WebMD. WebMD, 21 Aug. 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-food-addiction>.

Gunnars, Kris. "Food Addiction - A Serious Problem With a Simple Solution." Authority Nutrition. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014. <http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-overcome-food-addiction/>.

"In the News." Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous. N.p., 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://www.foodaddicts.org/in-the-news>.

"What Is FAA?" Welcome to Food Addicts Anonymous. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/What-Is-FAA>.

"What Is Food Addiction?" Food Addiction Institute. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.