Food Addiction - 1518 Words

Addiction is a dependence on a substance in which the affected individual feels powerless to stop. Millions of Americans have addictions to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and even to behaviors such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Our recent studies suggest that millions of Americans are addicted to food, as well. An average American is bombarded daily with random propaganda to try to sell what some would consider perfection. Most American citizens try to emulate those fictional characters in celebrity magazines. The truth is a lot of those pictures are air-brushed and some of the individuals have had extensive cosmetic surgery and other medical procedures done to look that way. This media manipulation is the main cause for the many†¦show more content†¦This leads to forced vomiting, misuse of laxatives and fasting. The medical complications include cardiac arrhythmias, esophageal tears, electrolyte disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, and dental problems. If not treated these complications, like anorexia complications, could become life threatening. The treatment involved is not as extreme as for the anorexic because the patients are not as secretive. For this reason there is hardly a need for hospitalization, though if the binging and purging are at an extreme and patients experience other psychiatric symptoms like thoughts of suicide, it may be recommended. The first step is usually psychotherapy for counseling. A lot of the patients benefit greatly and fully recover from this treatment. It tackles issues like mood swings and substance-related disorders. Support groups have been installed to help the patients to overcome their disorders. If this treatment is not enough pharmacotherapy is used as well. Antidepressants have been successful in helping patients suffering from symptoms of bulimia. The third type of food addiction is Compulsive Overeating. The general compulsive eater consumes food for reasons other than hunger. The sad fact is American citizens are going through an obesity epidemic. In fact, one in every four American adults is obese. The main reasons for the epidemic are the consumption of unhealthyShow MoreRelatedFood Addiction Is A Real Addiction1793 Words   |  8 Pagesover indulgence in high caloric foods. The definition of addiction from the Oxford dictionary describes addiction as a condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with, or involved in something. The word addiction usually brings to mind just drugs and alcohol. However, food addiction is a real addiction. It presents itself as a compulsive need to eat even if there is no physical need for food. Compulsive eating often referred to as â€Å"overeating† is when food is relied upon for comfort, anRead MoreEssay on Food Addiction in America1499 Words   |  6 Pages Addiction is a dependence on a substance in which the affected individual feels powerless to stop. Millions of Americans have addictions to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and even to behaviors such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Recent studies suggest that millions of Americans are addicted to food, as well. An average American is bombarded daily with random propaganda to try to sell what some would consider perfection. Most American citizens try to emulate those fictional characters inRead MoreEvidence For Food Dependency And Addiction1040 Words   |  5 PagesEvidence for Food Dependency/Addiction Flora is feeling hungry, but she just ate. She walks around trying to forget about the urge to pick up a donut or a random snack from the cupboard. Flora can’t get the food out of her mind. She feels like the food is calling her from the kitchen saying, â€Å"Eat me, eat me!† Flora gets up and makes her way to the food. She picks up granola bar, and opens it. The granola bar tastes wonderful and she is content, but then the bar was gone, and a few minutes later sheRead MoreAddiction: drugs vs. food1632 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Armstead Sociology 1301 11/23/13 Addiction: Food vs. Drugs Millions of people suffer from an addiction of some sort. A person can actually suffer from addictions to all sorts of things. It’s sad to say the first thing that comes to the minds of pretty much everyone when they hear the word addiction, is drugs. Controversy is at an uproar over whether or not food is addictive. As a matter of fact, food is the last thing on a person’s mind when addiction comes about. Though it’s hard to believeRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Food Addiction1644 Words   |  7 Pagesrecent studies, food can just be as addictive as any other drug out there (Gearhardt et a.,2011; Johnson Kenney, 2010; Deroche-Gamonet et al, 2004). Most of the evidence points out to the parallels between the corresponding neural correlates of drug and food addiction. Corwin and Grigson (2009) noted that food addiction is a rather pervasive and yet contentious issue that has of late grabbed media attention and the attention of general academia. A common sign of food addiction is overeating. OverRead MoreFast Food Addiction Essay1457 Words   |  6 Pagessurface of America’s love affair with fast foods, research finds some revealing manifestations that are propelling increasing obesity rates and are thus pushing us toward a growing health epidemic. The increasingly busy lifestyles of our society along with our overreliance on processed and pre-packaged foods are driving the multi-billion dollar food industry today. The food industries strategy to optimize profits through mass produced and processed foods is creating physically addictive productsRead MoreA New Problem: Addiction to Unhealthy Foods853 Words   |  3 Pagesmind, but a new form of addiction is arising in the of the United States in midst the 21st century. The problem is the addiction to unhealthy foods. This will harm the diet of an average American and more. It is understandable that you get hungry we are human and we do need a form of energy but when that source bec omes abused it can be a pitfall. The problem that leads to the pitfall consist of the manufacturing of the food eaten. The American diet consist of processed foods, factors that contributeRead MoreEssay on Fast Food Addiction667 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Fast Food is Our New Addiction Obesity is increasing rapidly because of the fast food. Showing and telling people how unhealthy to eat the fast food is extremely hard because it is now the popular culture for the societies those are dominated by the fast food industries. High profit and low cost is the primary reason why there are many Burger Kings and McDonald’s in the world (Kenway, â€Å"Junk food: The New Tobacco†). Yet some readers may challenge my view by insisting that the fast food industriesRead MoreFood Addiction Essay1032 Words   |  5 PagesThe 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. â€Å"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 uncontrolledRead MoreThe Neural Functioning of Individuals: Analyzing Food Addiction2587 Words   |  10 Pagescan 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