 start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than planned.
I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I am no longer hungry.
Not eating certain types of food or cutting down on certain types of food is something I worry about
I have found that I have elevated desire for or urges to consume certain foods when I cut down or stop eating them.
According to Psychology Today, another important factor of food addiction is tolerance to certain foods. This lead to craving more and more of the food for the same ‘hit’.
Furthermore, withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety or obsessive thoughts, when the problem foods are not available is another warning sign of addiction.
Arguments against the Food Addiction Theory
Although there is a lot of emerging research supporting the idea of food addiction, there is also a lot of opposition to this idea.
Most medical studies agree that there are neurological similarities to food and drugs in both rats and humans.
However, several research studies claim that there is not enough research on humans. Furthermore, it appears that only a subsection of individuals are prone to addictive type eating (around 5% to 10% of the US population).
The main objection to the food addiction theory is that it is not actually the food, in and of itself, that is addictive. Many specialists argue that this is also the case even with highly palatable foods.
One study 18 suggests that periodic gorging of certain foods followed by restriction of that food leads to addictive-like behavior.
So, this would be the case, for example, for all those who periodically do a very-low carb diet and then resume their normal eating patterns.
Additional 2014 research 19 concludes that the actual term ‘food addiction’ needs to be reassessed because it implies there is a substance-based behavior and the available evidence at the moment is poor.
Indeed, the above study suggests that the term ‘eating addiction‘ is more appropriate.
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