Relationship between Food and Addiction - Essay Sample

Addiction as a concept is a common phrase in the current society even though it lacks a reliable consensus under the established clinical terminologies. However, based on the clinical definitions, the term addiction can be implemented in describing the state of severe use of substance disorder. On the contrary, food addiction and its meaning have been presenting a controversial discussion presented by most scholars (Gordon 5). Some scholars are questioning if the aspect of eating or food being addictive yet is a basic need for humankind to survive, while a section of the critics is pointing out based on biological, behavioral, and psychological similarities between the implication of the addictive substance and the compulsive use of the higher palatable food products (Ayaz 3). Eating habits are becoming a challenge to break due to the nutritional contents and the continuous biological, behavioral, and psychological adaptation of the people in the contemporary world.

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The biological addiction of food can manifest itself through the aspects of brain reward pathways (for example). At the same time, behavioral and psychological can be evidenced by eating more than intended and preoccupations, respectively. According to Hunt (1), individuals with food addictions are characterized by loss of control on their feeding behavior, making them spend excess time and eat excessively or through the anticipation of compulsive overeating's emotional impact. The consumption of highly palatable foods such as foods with more artificial sweeteners, fats, carbohydrates, sugar, or salt can trigger pleasure centers within the brain, thus releasing chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, making the eater feel good while eating the food. An individual suffering from the impacts of food addictions is characterized by consuming a large amount of food before getting fully satisfied and sometimes leading to overweight.

Terming nutrients or food as addictive means that they contain the ingredients or inherent properties that can make the susceptible persons addicted to the food, as evidenced in the use of the chemical substance of abuse. Some food products have reinforcing and rewarding properties such as increased sugar or fat level combined with rewarding humans and rodents alike. Based on evolution, the rewarding properties increase the aspect of motivation and urge to continue seeking to acquire enough and nutritious energy supply (Gordon 6). The current obesogenic context is conceptualized with the readily available energy-intense and high palatable food that increases the intensity of a specific food's rewarding properties. That would affect both the homeostatic system and cognitive restraint leading to perpetual body weight. According to ibid (6), consuming specific food like ones with increased glycemic contents can cause a release of natural opiates, making the eater feel the taste of the food products, thus prompting the user's additive tastes.

Food addiction is of the main causative agents of obesity, as evident in many individuals in the current society. It is significant to note that the formulation of the already processed food is majorly designed to present a maximal reward and palatability, thus promoting the exposer of the sensory novel combination and its aspect of globalization. It is not easy to confine simple tastes like saltiness and sweetness. Still, the incorporation and blending of diverse tastes, sounds, textures, smells, or even flavor comes with the consumption or preparation (Hunt). Nonetheless, apart from caffeine ingredients, there is a potential lack of scientist facts that are tagged on any micronutrient, ingredients, food, and a combination of ingredients as an addictive or standard food additive. Through the aspect of lifestyle and health, medical practitioners discuss the models at which food addiction as a lifestyle that affects an individual's health and psychological well-being.

The individuals with the indicative signs and symptoms of addiction towards a specific food or general aspect can eventually develop some types of food tolerance, forcing them to eat excessively to realize limited satisfaction. Most scientists agree that addiction towards food is playing a vital role in health challenges such as obesity and other problems related to excessive food consumption (Behavioral Nutrition). However, individuals with normal weight can also be struggling with food addiction as their biological bodies are genetically oriented to effectively curb the cases of more calories than they are consuming. In case an individual is experiencing food addiction cases, the person would be eating continuously without the concerns of its impacts like gaining weight or affecting their social relationship. Just like one can get addicted to gambling and drugs, food addicts face a diverse challenge in creating a stop to their eating habits despite the numerous attempts to stop.

The perception of food addiction varies from one culture to the other. In America, per se, addiction is considered a criminal offense, whether it is food or substance-based. According to Kirkpatrick (paragraph 2), society should forget about the traditional misconceptions concerning addiction issues over drugs and never to reciprocate the same on the addictions related to food. The researcher advocates for flexible and accessing eating systems that do not allow for any rhetorical restrictions to challenge people while consuming their favorite food in society. It is a reliable aspect for the cultural setups to refrain from creating substantial barriers that would affect the eating culture and the people with food addiction. People talk about their bodies and food concerning the societal conception of how an individual can get addicted to specific foods like the ones termed as junks by the cultural grounds as if it is some drugs.

In conclusion, addiction as a concept is a common phrase in the current society even though it lacks a reliable consensus under the established clinical terminologies. The essay presented detailed information concerning the relationship between food and addiction. The consumption of highly palatable foods such as foods with more artificial sweeteners, fats, carbohydrates, sugar, or salt can trigger pleasure centers within the brain, thus releasing chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, making the eater feel good while eating the food. Food addiction can lead to obesity due to the consumption of excess food by an individual and frequent overweight that affects the person's social contact level with friends and family members. Food preoccupation issues like binge eating, emotional eating, overeating, and the disorders related to eating are having diverse etiologies that can lead to stressful life among the people. But the differences always come from the misconception from the cultural settings concerning the aspect of addiction.

Works Cited

Behavioral Nutrition “Food Addiction Treatment” 2020. https://behavioralnutrition.org/food-addiction/ Accessed on September 24, 2020.

Gordon, Eliza L., et al. "What is the evidence for “food addiction?” A systematic review." Nutrients 10.4 (2018): 477. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946262/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20findings%20support%20food%20addiction,demonstrate%20the%20greatest%20addictive%20potential. Accessed on September 24, 2020

Kirkpatrick, Mikalina et al., “Rethinking Food Addiction” March 8, 2019 https://benourished.org/rethinking-food-addiction/ Accessed on September 24, 2020

Hunt S. Michelle, "What Causes Food Addiction and What Are the Signs?” August 17, 2020. https://www.virtua.org/articles/what-causes-food-addiction-and-what-are-the-signs Accessed on September 24, 2020.

Ayaz Aylin “How does food addiction influence dietary intake profile? April 20, 2018 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0195541 Accessed on September 24, 2020