Addiction to food is like all the other addictions, it starts with a feeling of low self-esteem and the need to fill that emptiness with something, anything that makes them feel good about themselves.
People who are addicted to food are sometimes looked down on as those with no willpower or just plain greedy. How often have we heard the phrase ‘Oh I just don't have any willpower when it comes to Black Forest Gateaux, Strawberry Cheesecake or whatever' because we know we also have the same sort of reaction to our favourite dish.
The thing is, most of us understand that this is a very occasional treat that can be indulged, as it won't be repeated for quite a long time. However, the thrill we feel when eating our indulgence is working the same part of the brain as an addict using cocaine.
The increased production of dopamine is affecting the ‘pleasure' centre of the brain thereby reinforcing our gratification. However, food is a much more complicated substance, if a recent study is to be believed, because it shows that this increase in dopamine can be triggered by the smell or even the sight of certain foods.
If this is really the case, then for the food addict, a trip to the supermarket or even just walking down the high street is like a junkie visiting his drug dealer. It will certainly make any recovery that much more difficult given the amount of stimuli that occur in normal daily life. In fact, one study has suggested that a single fast food meal delivers enough fat and carbohydrate to change the brains structure just like a drug addicts.
Another complication is that eating is a vital activity to living, everybody has to eat, and the appetite is one of our most basic survival instincts. When does a normal feeling of hunger turn into a craving? It is this distinction that makes the difference.
Hunger is a natural process that tells the body that it is time to eat, a process that usually takes about three hours from the last meal. Craving, on the other hand, rapidly affects the person, often within the hour and can be intense in feeling.
If the person doesn't satisfy this feeling, usually with foods high in sugars and fats, they can start to feel withdrawal symptoms akin to that of a drug addict and the sufferer is drawn into a vicious circle of craving and bingeing which, to the non-sufferer, just looks like self indulgence and lack of will power.
