Food Addiction: Recovering and Restoring Health

With over 25 classification of eating disorders, one such group, food addicts, suffer greatly from embarrassment at the seemingly inability to sustain willpower.   Commonly found in individuals who suffer from significant body image issues, food addiction can be treated.  With the most common addiction found in the use of refined sugars and fats, food addicts can be mentally and physically treated in an effort to improve overall health.  The following is a review of the elements involving food addiction, the comorbid factors and importance of eating disorder support networks.

Individuals suffering from food addiction may attend support groups offering similar services to that of other support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.  Linked closely to mental health issues, food addicts generally suffer from depression and, in fact, research has recently given way to the theory that women develop a mental health disturbance, such as depression, and then suffer from an eating disorder, such as food addiction, secondary to that depression.   As a result, locating support networks in which to establish a foundation for psychological treatment is crucially important.

In addition to depression as a leading factor in the creation of food addiction, many women will suffer from a tertiary diagnosis of anxiety,  generally developing after the food addiction sets in.   With anxiety and depression, food becomes an object of obsession on a daily basis with many food addicts describing a pre-occupation with food, an overwhelming craving and the development of binge eating.