Food Addiction

What Is Food Addiction?

“If you are preoccupied with food, eating, or your body size to the extent that it interferes with your health, happiness, relationships, or normal day-to-day activities, chances are you have a food addiction. That doesn’t mean you have an eating disorder, although eating disorders certainly are food addictions. You might, however, be acting out disordered eating behaviors such as bingeing, purging, eating secretly, compulsive eating, or compulsive dieting that are similar to the behavior of someone with a diagnosable eating disorder…. These behaviors are all symptoms of food addictions…. Food addiction goes by many names: emotional eating, compulsive overeating, binge eating, eating disorders, eating disturbances, and disordered eating. You might not realize it, but chronic dieting is a form of food addiction. Avoiding or restricting food is a food addiction. A food addict is anyone who is overly preoccupied with food and body size. A food addict is anyone whose relationship with food is getting in the way of his or her physical or emotional well-being.” -Susan McQuillian, Breaking the Bonds of Food Addiction

More About Food Addiction

Food addiction is an umbrella term that includes many of the issues addressed in this section. For more, see the following:

Binge Eating

Cravings

Emotional Eating

Exercise Motivation

Mindless Eating

Negative Body Image

Obesity

Stress Eating

Weight Management

Yo Yo Dieting