Mental health articles

food addiction symptoms signs  Food addiction can be defi ned as “the compulsive pursuit of a mood change
by engaging repeatedly in episodes of binge eating despite adverse consequences”. It is, of course, closely connected with self-esteem, body
image, relationships, and the wish to manage unpleasant feelings, as are other eating disorders. Although food addiction involves bingeing,
patients may not necessarily demonstrate current purging, restricting behavior, or
compulsive exercising, as seen in other types of eating disorders. Primarily we see
frequent episodes of huge caloric intake, not in relation to hunger, which lead to signifi cant weight gain. Sheppard (1993) points out that food addicts show typical
characteristics of addictions—compulsion, denial, tolerance, withdrawal, craving,
and obsession, and she describes food addictions in the way that alcohol and drug
addictions are oft en described, as chronic, progressive, and fatal, if unchecked.

Tags: addiction, symptom