

If he has the uncontrollable urge to eat something and if it is not available, goes to any length to get it and consume it.If he continues to eat till the point that he gets physically sick.If the person does not worry about certain kinds of things being unhealthy for him/her and does not cut down on them.If he continues to eat even after getting full.If the individual eats certain things more than the planned amount.There are certain signs that a physician can look out for to assess if someone is addicted to food or not.

Some types of edibles, such as those with high sugar, fat, and carbohydrate content, act as triggers for binge eating disorder. Some of the foods that are considered to be triggers for fast food addiction are listed below:Īddicts can have uncontrollable urges towards them and other comfort foods when they feel stressed. Up to 50% of people suffering from FA also suffer from some kind of substance abuse disorder and other mental health disorders. Such addicts are also at increased risk of developing substance abuse or other eating disorders. Similarly, the percentage increased for obese people. Interestingly, 10% of the underweight category of individuals were also addicted to food.Īnother study suggests that the overall prevalence of FA was 5.4%, with increased prevalence among females. This percentage was 14% and 6.3% in overweight and normal-weight individuals, respectively.

Eating Addiction StatisticsĪccording to this research, people who are obese had 37.5% of them being food addicts. It takes over every aspect of life, making a person unable to function in society.īinge eating can also be a part of dual diagnosis problem or appear as a co-occuring disorder. Often relationships with family and friends are strongly affected, as feeding becomes a priority. The study also showed that chocolate induces a persistent conditioned place preference response like that seen in the case of drug rewards.Īpart from these neurological effects, the psychological effects of binge eating can last years, leading to even bigger issues than before the dependence. The short-term physical effect associated with dopamine and endogenous opiate release in the brain reward center is low-level euphoria, a decrease in both anxiety and emotional pain. It causes an increase in the activation of dopamine and opioid receptors, which consequently play a role in reward.

Studies have shown that the brain chemistry of a person changes with repeated exposure to highly palatable foods. Early exposure children to sugar can also lead to dependence later in life.Certain environmental factors such as peer pressure, sexual abuse, stress, exposure, and easy availability to high-sugar foods, and poor parental control can also cause this disorder.If there is a history of mental disorders in the family, the risk of having binge eating and other eating disorders increases.The gender and ethnicity of a person also increase the odds of causing a binge eating disorder.Certain biological factors, such as the genes with which people are born, can also become the cause of addictions.There are several factors that can contribute to the cause of binge eating. Causes of Binge Eating DisorderĪccording to research, when the brains of addicts were compared with those of people addicted to cocaine and other drugs, the scans showed remarkable similarities. Foods containing high fat, carbohydrates, sugar, and calories have addictive potential and can cause a number of dangerous diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other disorders. Some types of edibles are considered hyper-palatable, meaning that their flavor makes them easy for compulsive eating, which then can cause a dependence on them. Not every compulsive eater is a binge eater, but every binge eater is a compulsive eater. On the other hand, compulsive eating is showing compulsive eating behaviors on a few occasions without feeling any distress. Binge eating involves excessive eating over a long time and then feeling guilt and shame after the eating episodes. This results in psychological dependence and addiction.įA encompasses binge eating as well as compulsive eating. These kinds of edibles activate the brain’s reward system by increasing dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters’ levels – a way similar to that of how drugs and alcohol affect the neurotransmitters. Food addiction is a type of behavioral addiction where the addict shows compulsive eating towards high fat and high-sugar foods.
