Food Addiction Vs Drug Addiction

According to the u s.

Food addiction vs drug addiction. Using this scale it is estimated that 5 10 of the us population may fit the description for a food addiction. The yale food addiction scale created by dr. Food addictions is not that food is a problem but that specific foods are addicting to an individual 6 7. A person dealing with a food addiction may crave and eat particular foods even when not feeling hungry or in need of nourishment.

Although the jury is still out a growing body of evidence shows some striking similarities between food addiction and drug addiction. Like a drug addiction compulsive eaters will find themselves craving processed junk food. Another argument for the addictive nature of junk food is that the same drugs that fight addiction also tend to help people lose weight. Scientists have long debated the similarities between food addiction and drug addiction.

This is how addiction works in its most basic form. A chemical dependency on food can be likened to a drug addict who becomes addicted to the high or euphoria experienced when abusing their substance of choice. Department of veterans affairs studies have shown that foods made rich with large amounts of salt sugar and flour can cause increases in the dopamine within the brain which causes a craving for those foods. Those who argue against its inclusion in the dsm claim that people cannot be addicted to food because well we all have to eat right.

Food may be just as addictive as drugs or alcohol. These foods can be more addictive than some other drugs in a few ways. All of these traits are similar to drug addiction. I learned that the food industry doesn t help people like me either.

Food addicts will often report losing control eating more than planned and anticipating consumption. Food addiction produces cravings triggers and responses similar to drug addiction. For example one study found that only 7 7 of overweight or obese participants met the arguably lenient yfas criteria for food addiction compared with 1 6 of under weight and healthy weight participants. Biological forces are driving compulsions in this relationship and most will live to eat verses eating to live.

Menzies biggest objection to the term food addiction is that it confuses drug like chemical addiction with rewarding properties for instance he argues there s an evolutionary reason our brains light up when we eat high sugar high fat foods. Ashley gearhardt assesses how addicted a person is to food. A good example is the drug contrave which recently gained.