Pam Peeke chews the fat about food addictions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/pam-peeke-chews-the-fat-about-food-addictions/2012/11/27/fefbe388-33ef-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_print.html
Pam Peeke, a fitness expert and professor of medicine, is trying to crack down on an issue near and dear to Americans - food addiction. She says that food and cocaine addictions are similar in the sense that they both act on the release of dopamine and both require detox for recovery. Two factors play into the addiction to food: genetics and environment. The prefrontal cortex of the brain plays a role in resisting urges but when someone has actually reached addiction, they have a damaged prefrontal cortex. She offers an idea that would lead to treatment saying "you should try to lay off anything that you identify as a false fix". If stress is the factor in overeating she says that you should channel that energy into exercise because working out assists in deactivating addictive genes.
I agree with Peeke about the benefits of exercise and the overwhelming positive effect it has on your emotions but I was skeptical about it deactivating obesity and addiction genes. I believe that food is an addition because of the role of dopamine on the brain but I think that the addiction gets so bad there needs to be a medical treatment for it. For instance, when we discussed addiction in class, there needs to be an adverse treatment that would make the person sick when they over eat or eat certain unhealthy foods. What do you guys think? Is it really enough for someone to just identify a false fix and stop eating it?
Kirsten Fulop
I do believe that there are some extreme cases of food addiction but that most people are capable of replacing their "false fix" foods with healthier alternatives, as the article suggests. It would of course help if there was some averse effect that occurred after consuming the "bad" food but that's not always a realistic solution. The article also suggests that exercise can help retrain your brain. This leads me to believe that most people do not need serious medical intervention, just to work out more and find healthier alternatives to their favorite foods.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Allison above! In addition, I believe that it's not just important to identify the "false-fix" and then to stop eating it, but it's also important to identify the reasoning behind the addiction and address that issue. Like the article stated, if over-eating is in response to stress, then exercise. If you crave for something sweet after every meal, invest in sugar-free desserts. There are different ways to detach yourself from "false-fixes". Once you begin to lay off your "false-fix" it is likely that you will be less attracted to that unhealthy lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteKirsten I am also skeptical about exercise deactivating obesity and addictive genes, and I believe it would be helpful for there to be a medical treatment for food addictions. The article suggests that you can get the same high you were looking for from the treadmill instead of a triple chocolate cake. This may be true for some people, but a true food addict probably wouldn't be satisfied. Although exercising has many benefits, one might work out and then think that it's more acceptable to indulge in their desired food. I agree with the comments above, in that it's important to find the reason behind the addiction and try to find healthier alternatives to their favorite foods. But just like many other addictions need medical treatment, I think severe food addicts do too.
ReplyDeleteUsing exercise as a go to activity to try to reduce addiction from food is kind of ridiculous. Think about the last time you worked out, what was the first thing you wanted to do afterward. That's right, eat something. Exercise is a perfect kind of mind altering activity to forget about addictive substances, but I feel that if that substance being abused is food, then it only contributes to the desire for food. I agree that there should be a type of therapy that helps people who are addicted to certain foods or eating behaviors. There are already treatments in place for people who do not get a full feeling from eating and for people who eat things with no nutritional value, why is there no treatment for those who are cripplingly addicted to eating to satisfy their cravings.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of food addiction seems ridiculous at first, but I agree it can happen. However, it is more then a biological problem, it is also a learning one. People with food addiction problems have conditioned themselves to eat this food, whether the pleasurable taste helps relieve stress, anxiety and worries, or if it is used to reward oneself for a hard day's work. I agree with Sophie in that this problem must be tackled at the source, otherwise the food addiction will continue to spiral out of control.
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