To what degree does food addiction contribute to obesity? Simply put, obesity is the abnormal or excessive accumulation of adipose tissue resulting from a positive energy imbalance. We know that overeating is just one cause of the energy surplus. But for those that overeat, how often does an obsessive/compulsive relationship to certain foods develop, and does this contribute to obesity? A study linking food addiction to obesity (perhaps the first of its kind) was conducted and the results were not surprising. They showed that 80-88.6% of food-addicted individuals were overweight or obese based on criteria recommended by George Bray, M.D., author of The Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, or body mass index (BMI) criteria, suggesting that food addiction has contributed to the rise of obesity in the general population. It is important to note that food addiction was also found among those identified as underweight or normal weight, but in much lower numbers. The study also looked at macro-nutrient consumption (fat, protein, carbs) between food-addicted and non-addicted subjects, with the food-addicted subjects consuming more fat and protein. It is also noteworthy that there was a significant correlation between food addiction and the severity of obesity, as well as differences between men and women, with women having a higher rate of food addiction than men. This study had more women participants than men and we look forward to future studies with equal participants of each gender. This study proposes that those with obesity and food addiction may represent a relevant subset of the obese population and may open up a pathway toward finding new and effective methods for treating obesity. Body-mass-index PLoS.org Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 20:21:54 +0000
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