The Consequences Of Food Addiction

However, physical inactivity is an important factor of obesity. Firstly, in this modernized world, many jobs were involved sitting in front of the desk for long hours. Apart from that many people using cars rather than walking or cycling. Secondly, many people tend to watch TV and playing video games and browsing the internet for relaxation. They often do regular exercise.Thirdly, people are using labor-saving devices such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers for household work, due to these devices people were physically less active.

In today’s time, food has various meanings and degrees of importance. Some people use food as an act of nurture, some use food for a means of happiness. Preoccupation with food may lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders often causes one to display symptoms of depression, including mood swings, hopelessness, loneliness and anxiety.

The addiction I chose to write about this week is a food addiction/compulsive eating. A food addiction is obsessive-compulsive relationship people have with food. Eating food is both vital and important in our everyday lives to give our bodies the nutrients, vitamins and calories that it needs. “Compulsive overeating, also referred to as food addiction, is characterized by an obsessive-compulsive relationship to food” (Karim, 2012, p. 7, para. 2). When people overeat, they engage in episodes of uncontrolled eating and will often find themselves consuming so much food just to feel comfortably full. Compulsive overeaters usually eat even if they are not hungry. People who have a food addiction have excessive thoughts about food that consumes

It can be said that most American’s are aware that exercise and diet help you stay healthy. In our environment today we have too much to do and not enough time. An article I found about the factors that lead to obesity said this:

According to report of survey of 2007-2008 by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) by Ogden (2010) approximately 32.4 percent of adult population of US above 20 years of age have a basal metabolic interest (BMI) over 25 which indicate that they are overweight. About 33.8% of adults above 20 years of age are obese (BMI>30) and 5.7% are extremely obese (BMI > 40). These figures are alarming and obesity is of serious health concern. Americans are less physically active. The price of food in America has declined significantly due to changes in technology which have improved the effectiveness of food production and its distribution. Additionally, technology has reduced the requirement for physical activity during work or for movement. For most Americans, doing physical exercise requires a conscious dedication to exercise, which comes

Overweight individuals may learn an association between seeing food and motivation to eat. Considering that there was no significant effect of the conditioned response to chocolate milk in lean individuals, we must wonder how this may predict obesity. This study also shows it may be possible that lean individuals need more pairings or more of the stimulus to create a conditioned response similar to overweight individuals (Meyer et. al., 2014). It is difficult for extinction to occur especially in terms of food because we need it to survive but this study may help us understand better the mechanism behind obesity and overeating. It may be easier to attempt to associate healthier foods that taste similar to the unhealthy food as a way of trying to break conditioning to the unhealthy

In light of this inference, it is crucial to analyze the mechanisms in the neural system underlying overconsumption and food selection in children (Booth, Burman, Meyer, Lei, Trommer, Davenport & Mesulam 2003). Food selection is a product of the visual aspect. The presence of food normally leads to a series of responses such as cephalic phase, hedonic evaluation and the desire to ingest (Dagher 2012). In this study, we will look at neural responses to food and the nonfood viewing in children coupled with the areas of the brain that food activates especially among children. Although children may be susceptible to food cues, they may fail to activate significant areas relevant for inhibitory control like the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex(Brooks, Cedernaes & Schiöth

In a study conducted by Stoeckel et al. (2008), they observed the reward systems of obese subject. The researchers found that the obese participants have a hyperactive reward system compared to normal weight participants. They found this result by comparing the brain activity in normal-weight women and obese women when observing various pictures of high-fat and low-fat foods. The study found that the normal-weight women showed an increase in activation in the medial prefrontal cortex in response to low-calorie foods, while the obese women showed an increase in activation in the VTA in response to high-calorie food. This difference in the activation shows that obese women have a higher affinity for high-fat foods. This means that not only do obese women have altered value on food reward, but also have a greater motivation to seek it. The regions of brain where activity increase is also important in the evaluation of food reward. The obese women showed increased activation in VTA which is a major region when it comes to both emotion and addiction. Since the region of increased activation in obese participants is involved in emotional functioning, food and emotion must correlated in obese individuals. The emotional attachment that obese individuals have with food helps to explain their altered reward

As the taste system has evolved to detect the nutrients or toxins in foods previous to ingestion, it is logic that fats would be sensed through taste. Additional macronutrients, namely carbohydrates and proteins, are exposed through the tastes of sweet and umami. An increasing amount of evidence from humans and other animal species provides support for this proposition. In support for a functional significance of fat taste, differences in taste sensitivity for fat seems to predict certain dietary behaviors. Furthermore, sensitivity to fat can be controlled by the diet. The intake of a high-fat diet appears to boost the body’s capacity for fat absorption with no changes in hungriness. This implies that such changes may accompany or foster excess fat intake and obesity. These facts propose a direct role of the taste system in the consumption and liking of high-fat foods. The process allowing for increased consumption of fat is indicated to be by fullness or satiety signals. In the following 5-10 years should finally uncover if fat can be categorized as the sixth taste. In any case, there happens to be a functional significance to oral chemosensing of

According to medical guidelines, addiction is defined as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences” (Paola). Its symptoms consist of weakened control over the substance of choice, lack of ability to process proper thinking and an obsessive consideration for the substance (Wikipedia). When we do something pleasurable our brains are designed to reward us by releasing a chemical called dopamine. This chemical is released in high quantities when drugs are ingested, not only enticing the addict but encouraging him/her to seek after the source from which they obtained pleasure. This part of the brain is called the reward system (Shatterproof). In 1991, the American Medical

According to 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, more than two thirds of US adults are overweight or obese1 generating an estimated health care cost of $150 billion2. Increasing obesity prevalence may be attributed to a decrease in energy expenditure and an increase in intake of foods rich in sugar and fat, increase in snacking prevalence and energy density of snacks consumed3. Feeding is a complex behavior involving the integration of physiological energy needs and the pleasure derived from food consumption. Hypothalamic centers regulate energy-need based feeding, whereas the consumption of palatable foods, such as foods rich in fat and sugar, is regulated by the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. The two

Consumers are constantly bombarded with advertisements for foods loaded with empty calories and sugar. “Research has emerged showing that high-calorie, high-fat foods replete with excess sugar and salt are desirable despite their health risks because they can be addictive, rewiring the brain’s reward mechanism just

A corpus of research indicates that people can be truly addicted to food in much the same way that some people become addicted to and dependent on controlled substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and illegal drugs. The literature points to parallels between the neural functioning of individuals who are obese and individuals who have demonstrated substance dependence. The literature further indicates that people with tendencies toward food addiction may respond to increased appetitive motivation for food when they try to implement self-control strategies. Some research points to the importance of attention cues in dietary decision-making, indicating that cues about the healthfulness of particular foods can have a modulating effect on food choice. Food cues appear to function in the same manner as the cues that increase the use of addictive substances, and similar neural activation occurs with both conditions. The policy problem indicated by these new findings is that environmental cues are important triggers for behavior and may, in fact, override native responsibility by stimulating disinhibition. These are important considerations for the social response to obesity, food addiction, and substance addiction.

Today there is enormous interest in the psychological factors that can affects a person’s eating habits, but some of the clearest research findings have come from research into the brain (neural) mechanisms controlling eating behaviour.

Certain activities, places, and interactions with others can trigger the conditioning to eat unhealthy foods. Movie night is an excuse for big buckets of popcorn and tubs of sugary sodas. Visiting the coffee place with friends could trigger intense cravings for coffee, but it means a muffin or snack, too.