America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Almost one in two people are obese, not just overweight. Despite the proliferation of diets and weight-loss drugs, the needle on the scale keeps creeping up.
A growing number of experts contend that conventional treatments fail to address the root of the issue. They argue obesity is not just about physiology—it’s about psychology.
Food as a Drug
Food addiction involves overeating highly palatable, sugary, salty, fatty foods beyond the body’s needs. It shares some symptoms with binge-eating disorder, such as a lack of control around certain foods.“This is how we create addictive drugs; you process something (e.g., a leaf, a fruit) so it rapidly delivers high levels of reward,” Ms. Gearhardt said. “So with the spread of ultra-processed foods, this same playbook has been applied to our food supply.”
Treating Food Addiction
Treating food addiction requires a comprehensive approach similar to treating drug or alcohol addictions, Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and professor at Stanford Medical School, told The Epoch Times.Like drugs, “ultra-processed foods confuse the brain because they release a whole lot of dopamine all at once with minimal upfront effort,” she said. This dopamine rush then triggers downregulation and cravings for more food.
“We see patients who are addicted to food and use it like a narcotic to the point of blackout in the same way that people are addicted to and use drugs and alcohol,” she said.
Rethink Junk Food ‘Rewards’ for Children
Matt Angove, a licensed naturopathic physician, sees food addiction’s grip on patients daily. “Processed food addiction is vicious,” he told The Epoch Times.Parents often unintentionally enable addiction in children. “Parents tell me that they get junk food or fast food for their kid because they’ll ‘just burn it off’—that the children’s active lifestyle counteracts the effect of processed foods,” he said.
But these processed foods still affect children’s health.
Additionally, many parents offer junk food as a reward for good behavior, establishing an unhealthy linkage in kids’ minds between these foods and praise, Mr. Angove said. Although balancing discipline and rewards is tricky, he advised against ultra-processed treats that overstimulate young brains.
In Mr. Angove’s practice, he said, addressing the root behavioral causes of obesity is key.
Food Addiction Requires Public Health Approach
Both Dr. Lembke and Ms. Gearhardt advocate classifying food addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a diagnosable disorder needing dedicated research, prevention, and treatment.Ms. Gearhardt pointed to cigarette history as instructive for the approach to food addiction.
For decades, debates raged over whether smoking was truly addictive or just a bad habit. Eventually, research made clear it was a genuine addiction, not an issue of willpower alone.
“We changed the environment so it didn’t promote a highly deadly and addictive substance by doing things like restricting marketing of these products to children and putting warning labels on cigarettes,” she said.
“The same thing is likely needed to address the current food environment that is dominated by unnaturally intense, rewarding ultra-processed foods and marketing that often targets children.”
