It is a learned behavior in many cases, even as far as being considered "cultural", especially among African-Americans, Jews, Arabs, and Italians (there are a few others). We eat when we are happy, we eat when we are sad, we eat when we achieve something (birthdays, anniversaries), and we eat for reasons other than hunger. It also isn't just "eating emotions", it is the quantity and quality which become an issue.

Like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, eating can be a compulsion, a way to exert a belief of self-control or a way to mask pain. However, it isn't just the addiction part, it is the "bad food" part too, and it's even more deadly now with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is the lack of education. There is a lack of education about good eating habits, good food, and proper ways to diet. There have been so many fad diets over the years, and every year, it seems, there are new ones, that are a "miracle" cure, not to mention the reliance on surgery for a quick fix (lap bands, liposuction).

I also feel our society of body shaming feeds (no pun intended) these addictions. Too thin, too fat, not muscular enough, and the lists go on and on. While I suffered from bulimia when I was in college, I find myself beating myself up for not having the "courage" to do it again because I have become fat again. I have a battle raging in my mind. I know what bulimia can do, I have had extensive work done to my teeth because my enamel was destroyed, especially on the backs of my teeth. I actually suffer from a form of dysmorphic body disorder. Fortunately, mine is not too severe, but it can and has prevented me from looking in a mirror, taking care of myself, even leading to bouts of depression and agoraphobia. Sometimes the disorder wins, and sometimes I win. It is a struggle.

I also feel there isn't a responsible education on healthy lifestyles, eating, and coping with various stressors. Support is important, but often people are shamed for not "controlling" their bodies.

Let me tell you.. Absolutely all addictions are extremely difficult to get under control.. The one concept which I feel is immensely helpful are support groups focused on the many addictions facing our society today..Identifying with others so you don’t feel alone is huge... I can’t tell you how AA
has helped me and yes I know that the recidivism problem is huge..but I’ve been dealing with my disease for close to 30 yrs and I can safely say it works for me and for millions of others.

Last edited Thu Dec 15, 2016, 11:03 AM - Edit history (2)

If you are reading these words, then that is the result of a 12 step program that worked. Yes, there are such programs for people with food addictions. And..these programs work, but a person needs to "work the program" We go to meetings, read literature, talk to others, meditate, and perhaps the most important of all actions......listen to others as they deal with their addiction.

. Overeaters Anonymous is such a program..
There are no dues or fees, membership is open to anyone with a desire to deal with their food problem.

I have kept the weight off by listening and acting upon what I have learned..But I repeat, what I said in the first post, it ain't easy..We do the best that we can do, each day and every day. One Day At A Time.. I recommend it as a way to deal with this awful addiction.

I must add this idea and it is quite significant. Eating disorders have been recognized as a very serious health problem only in the last 20 years or so. (depending on who studies them) While drug and alcoholism have been studied and looked at since the late 30s and earlier, our focus has not been on the eating problems that people have, such as gaining and loosing large amounts of weight, over and over, or bulimia or anorexia or the combo of all of them. It was just an eating problem, and surly an individual could control what they eat..(couldn't they?)..

But now, we see this set of addictions, as the most dangerous health problem in the U.S.A We eat too much, too little, or the wrong kinds of food. Many of us can't stop the behavior. For decades people have known that drug addicts are..well, drug addicts or just plain drunks if it is the booze..But this eating thing...well..it is just eating and gaining and loosing weight. (along with perception of how we look)..oh, that is not a major health problem people think....

But it is, and people are dying every day because of complications of too much, too little, or the totally wrong food. And, society does not call the cause of death eating or food problems. Instead, we call it complications from heart disease or diabetes or a host of other terms. .. So us eating disorder people, have an additional problem. That is, that society has only recently recognized that this is an incredible problem that affects one in three of us, and not just adults, but children too. Next summer at the beach look around and you will see the truth. Just as important,are those who are underweight or close to normal weight and are obsessed about those 5 pounds or or they stop eating altogether or vomit or whatever. Eating disorders are totally different than other addictions. Yet, addictions, are....addictions... (more on this topic later............)

If one adds deaths due to heart disease, diabetes, anorexia, severe overweight, etc....and take the total and divide by 3...one third of this country is overweight 10 percent, ..whatever that number is..the number of deaths that have a complication of too much weight...(of course they do not call it that) ...equals one death every 3 minutes. So...whatever number we come up with, ...weighing too much increases health problems..

but.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I do love to eat...certain sweat and fatty foods.............I pray a lot....but ....it don't go away.....the brain remembers the pleasure.......I shouldn't talk that way, but it is the truth, and I have been having some problems concerning the ..."food" and ..."other stuff"...lately..I got to keep my mind straight........and........
......if that were easy, well it would be easy.......best to all............today and everyday.......Stuart

extra bit of information................................................................a long time ago, when I first got interested in this subject.....I watched TV from 7 am to 11pm..and counted the food commercials, vs other commercials....................................................................................................
(food included beer, wine, etc..as well as soda pop..etc..and the rest..since they advertisers really try to make pet food look delicious to the viewer, I counted those too.)...results...of the hundreds that I watched..it turns out that about one third of all commercials, then, contained some kind of cues to get you hungry or thirsty...Then, it was black and white tv, but now it is totally color..so they use every trick imaginable to click on that hunger button or that thirsty button in our brains...and they come up with some incredible tricks..but that is for another time and day...