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.