Do you think addiction to food - and being very overweight is as bad as an addiction to alcohol, etc? I think, in the long run, being very overweight can be just as detrimental to your health as substance abuse. It can lead to a multiple of health problems such as diabetes, depression, knew problems and more. I personally have struggled with weight loss. I know a lot of weight a few years ago and have kept it off. Well, I'll be honest I have gained about 10 lbs back but I'm working on losing that again, and I"m technically not overweight now. Thoughts?
In terms of health, yes, I think being addicted to food can be just as unhealthy as being addicted to alcohol. Unlike alcohol though, I think it food addiction can be more easily overcome on one's own. I used to be overweight and very much addicted to sugar. I had to stop eating all high sugar content foods (chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream, white bread, white rice, etc) for about 6 months before I really didn't have the severe craving for them and was able to get through a day without the intense desire to eat something sweet like chocolate or cookies.
Yes it can be very destructive. My cousin developed an eating disorder after death of dad. It's hard to see a young person gain so much weight so quick.
I believe that if you're addicted to food you face a lot of risks like the problems described. It can be as harmful as the alcohol or other drugs, but I think that you can overcome the addiction easier than the addiction to drugs (such as meth or heroin). You just have to have the right mentality probably, but I'm not an expert so don't hate on me if what I wrote was wrong
Yes there are some people that can become addicted to food. This happens for all kinds of people, I think some use food to make themselves feel better about some things. I have also known people to eat when they are bored, and then some use food for comfort. At this point when food becomes an addiction a can be just as dangerous as using drugs. This will affect your health your weight and many other things.
I believe being addicted to food is as bad as addicted to alcohol. After all, we have not much self discretion to avoid getting overweight when those desires come.
I don't think there is a addiction to food - also what is defined as a food? Food is necessary to one's survival and existence, it's benign moderation that people neglect that eventually result in them becoming overweight. However, people's definition of food is infinite, because some eat metal or dirt for food - whether that's bad or not, it's up to the individual to reckon so. An addiction is doing something you don't need and it's what you believe you need, but truly, it is what you want, desire, wish for only - as I wrote above, food is a necessity, not a want.
Just wanted to add that for those who might struggle with overeating and food addiction, there is a 12 step program for it that is modeled after AA. It's called Overeater's Anoymous. In addition to the support group meetings, they do ask members to follow a certain diet format. I haven't been to a meeting in years so it's possible they changed that aspect of their program.
Yes, I believe so. You are right to say that it causes a lot of serious illnesses in the long run. Though illnesses can be hereditary, they can be induced by what food we eat. My friend's dad died of cancer (I forgot what type) which was the first in a family with no known history of cancer. They were so shocked when he was diagnosed and died just a few months after. The doctor traced his CA to an unhealthy lifestyle especially the kind of food he ate. Moreover, obesity is linked to an increase in cancer risks and other chronic diseases. Here is a link that talks about that: http://www.cancer.org/healthy/eathe...y-for-cancer-prevention-diet-cancer-questions. The site also answers questions about what certain food content does to the health in terms of increasing or reducing exposure to some types of cancer.
You don't have to be obese to be addicted to food. I was addicted to food for the longest time because I was cutting weight all the time for wrestling. week after week I would lose 2-10 pounds with sheer force and starvation only to gain in back in a day or two. This cycle lead me to a state of perpetual hunger and after a while I could control myself around food. There was a point where I would eat everything I could get down until my stomach hurt. I think an instinct clicked in my head and just told me to eat. I'm pretty sure that is a form of bulimia and I will always discourage it in the future.
I am not overweight but I am addicted to food as well. I eat healthy sometimes but I have an addiction to Mexican food and sweets. I love tacos, nachos, burritos, cake, ice cream, and cookies . I would eat them for the rest of my life if I could. The only thing is that I try to stay at an appropriate weight size for my height but it continues to go up and down because of my eating habits. I get confident when I exercise and see progress. I use that as an excuse to eat what I want which is not a good thing. Hopefully I can start back exercising and cutting back on my favorite foods during the week and eat how I want on the weekends. I love food but I should stop being so greedy.
Addiction to food can be as bad as any other addiction, especially if a person is addicted to unhealthy food. Not all people who have an unhealthy addiction to food are overweight or obese, but the addiction itself can cause many health problems. Being overweight could be one of the possible problems. But, other serious health problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, etc. These things can lead to death as much as an addiction to drugs can.
I think that any kind of addiction is problematic. If you overdo a thing, it becomes a threat to your health. Overeating has many different reasons, and obesity can literally kill you in the long run. It puts a strain on your entire organism, and the possibility of developing life threatening diseases is very real.
Addiction to food may be caused by stress. Unable to release this stress triggers the stimuli in the environment to resort to something that could be reached instantly. Psychologically, when a person is unable to reach out to other people, he or she turns to things.
I don't think that being addicted to food is quite as bad as being addicted to something like alcohol. All though I believe that a food addiction is nearly as bad as a drug or alcohol addiction. Bad food or overeating can be very bad for your health. I know I currently struggle with this problem. I have it some what under control but I struggle. It is hard for me to not have junk food at least a couple times per week maybe more. I can't get enough of soda. It is an addiction that isn't healthy and is hard to kick.
When you get addicted to food, your body suffers. Layers of fat accumulate, and it is nearly similar to being addicted to alcohol. Addiction to alcohol, or drugs affect the physical or mental health of the body, similar to getting unhealthy food-wise.
Refined carbohydrates and processed sugars can cause a type of addiction or addiction like issue because your blood sugar spikes and drops so fast from them, which makes you hungry again and wanting more sugar to get your blood sugar back up. This cycle of eating/drinking (sodas ect) is very damaging to the body and does cause severe weight gain and eventually can cause diabetes. It is a hard cycle to break. I have never been too severely addicted to sugar, but when I have made a point to eliminate sugar and processed foods from my diet it does in fact take about a week to stop craving it. I would say this is basically a detox of sorts. Days 2-4 are usually the worst. I've been pretty good with my diet for several months now and I'm hoping to never go back to eating junk food regularly so I don't have to go through that again.
This is very true. I definitely was addicted to carbs and sugar and it was really terrible. It was a vicious cycle. It was only after I broke the addiction that I could truly appreciate that yes I was addicted. I can see now that "normal" people do have the same intense level of need to eat carbs and sugar as I did. I would literally spend the day planning what I would eat. I was always consumed with the next snack or meal. I could never pass up any kind of sweet even if I was completely full. The problem started for me in childhood and I think it starts for a lot of people in childhood. I think there are some overweight children who are overweight because of the addiction and that instead of doctors insisting that children should not be put on diets, they need to actually start screening kids and see if it's possible they might have the addiction to carbs and sugars. If so, then yes, they need to be put on a restricted diet that doesn't include those foods for 6 months to a year to break the addiction and then slowly reintroduce them.
Nice to know that you are able to control yourself and you are not overweight. Definitely addiction to anything can be bad, both addiction to foods and alcohol are bad for your health. But addiction to alcohol is hard to battle since there is no surgery to stop the want for alcohol unlike on foods.
I think it is absolutely possible become addicted to food. Anything you enjoy can become addictive. I can kind of relate to this, I love foods that are horrible for me, bacon , burgers, pizza, ect. I am also on the large side, 6'3 and 230 pounds last I checked. Weight loss is very difficult, because it is one of the hardest tread mills. If you are over sized, you can't go up stairs without getting out of breath. Telling a big person to run a mile is like telling them to swim the english channel. Then there is your problem, you have lost a good amount of weight, which is admirable, but where do you go from here? It is hard to keep loosing, because you don't have a lot of fat left to loose. Your body is also fighting to regain the weight, thinking being that skinny isn't normal for it. It really is a hard situation.