Food Addict or Food Lover? There's a Difference - Food News - Cooking

Food Addict or Food Lover? There’s a Difference

2 Comments | Written on March 19, 2012 at 1:00 pm, by Lesley Kennedy

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It’s kinda like the old which came first, the chicken or the egg, question. Do you simply has a fondness for food or do you love food because you’re addicted to it? If the classic question has visions of chicken parm and eggs Benedict dancing in your head, the latest research says there’s a very good chance you might as well face it, you’re addicted to food.

Dr. David Moore, a psychologist and chemical dependency professional, tells the New York Daily News the clues leading to a food addiction diagnosis aren’t entirely obvious, but Yale researchers say it is possible to tell the addicts from the overeaters.

And Bill Manville, author of Cool, Hip & Sober, tells the newspaper food addiction can, in fact, be dealt with. He asked Dr. Bob Lynn, clinical director at Family Institute in New Jersey, for advice.

“Begin by becoming aware of what triggers you,” Lynn tells the Daily News. “Ask someone close to you for honest feedback. Exercise can be helpful, not only because you can lose weight but also because it can stimulate some of the same pleasure centers in the brain as food. Also, once one focuses on taking care of their body they are less likely to abuse it with overeating and other addictive behaviors.”

Lynn tells Manville a food addict must change his or her way of thinking about eating, too.

“Remember it is not always what you’re eating,” Lynn tells the newspaper. “It may be what is eating at you. For this professional help is highly recommended.”

Moore says joining an addiction program is key.

“I don’t care if it’s Overeaters Anonymous or a weight program that has groups to address the denial of comfort eating; without that, I don’t see a way for addicts not to kid themselves that things ‘aren’t so bad’,” he tells the Daily News.

Do you think those meetings serve donuts?