Fatty Foods like Cocaine

LOL I wonder what obese people and test rats have in common? perhaps they're both not happy with their current situation and use food to compensate? who knows what goes in the mind of a caged rat, but it's still something to consider.

Not sure I agree with that completely but there is certainly an obsessive or compulsive (and therefore probably addictive) part to ALL eating disorders. With anorexia it is getting on the scales and seeing weight loss, so not limited to overeating.

Karen

Hi Karen!

"getting on the scales and seeing weight loss, so not limited to overeating."

this is a great example. The "seeing" part is not genetic nor related to the inherent properties of food. Right? Seeing, or perceiving, is a mental aptitude. Then anorexia is a response to it. Overeating has a similar structure but rather than "getting on the scales" it's another activity or state.

ok what I'm getting at is its the behavior itself, the obsessive or compulsive behavior, that becomes addicting. It's not the food or the lack of the food. Of course it's centered around food. But it isn't the food that's the problem.

There is a serious problem with the quality of food though. Many processed foods could cause a chain reaction in the body leading to the body being overweight. Obesity though often has a relationship with how the person emotionally reacts to the world. That's something all diets and exercise programs I've ever encountered failed to address.

last weekend I talked to an anorexic about their issue. This is the chain of thoughts:
be offered food>think about their weight>compare themselves now to what they want to be>feel unattractive/bad>avoid food

one person's obesity chain of events:
feel bad/different>feel hungry>eat>either feel bad (looping back to beginning) or feeling satisfied (avoiding issue until it comes back making them feel bad/different thus looping back)

notice how obesity is feeling oriented. anyhow, my point is that feelings aren't something you can really measure objectively and also tangibly relate to behavior so it's often going to be disregarded.

Hi Satanstoystore

Yes, I guess it is in general the behaviour that is obsessive in most eating disorders in my personal experience, although anorexia tends to be slightly different in that food if often avoided at all costs, even if someone is aware of the dangers to themselves.

I don't think any of it is generic really, particularly as my eating disorder didn't start until quite late in my life. It was more a response to life stressors, therefore behaviours, and still is.

Karen