Food as Drug: A Cultural & Medical History of Food Addiction & Compulsive Overeating PART I

Over the coming days, I will devote several posts to this topic.  I think it is incredibly important, with special regards to a large portion of the American population.  We are at a point where food addiction is arguably the most common, widespread cultural and medical problem this country has ever experienced.  Obesity numbers continue to climb through the roof.  I saw a statistic today that claimed the percent of American men with a BMI of 30 or above is a staggering 44.2%, while that of women is an even worse 48.3% (Click HERE to see the study).  We've got a problem on our hands, people.  And I want to argue that food addiction and the subsequent compulsive overeating are the main culprits in this debacle.

   Excessive food consumption is a relatively common phenomenon in Western society.  Much of it appears to occur seasonally, especially around traditional and festive holidays or family gatherings.  And with the ease-of-access to highly-processed, highly-palatable foods in the supermarket and on the street corner, excessive caloric intake has become habitual for many Westerners and has seemingly led to what many health professionals refer to as the “Obesity Epidemic.”  Some have made the arguments of high fat, sugary, or salty foods as being “addictive” (Cocores & Gold, 2009) or having “addictive qualities.”  However to make the blanket statement that obesity in general is an addiction would clearly be inappropriate.  Obesity is merely a symptom, the result of an addiction.  An addiction, as defined by Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary, is “a chronic relapsing condition characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and abuse and by long-lasting chemical changes in the brain.” 

The key word we want to focus on for now is compulsive.  Until recently, the word “addiction” has been solely used as a descriptor for drug-abuse.  In recent decades however, medical professionals and the general public alike have both begun questioning this and proposing theories regarding the addictive properties of food on a widespread level.  It is important to note that not every case of obesity involves compulsion.  Davis and Carter (2009) argue that overeating for many is a passive event, occurring “almost without awareness”.   It has become habitual, manifesting itself in the forms of snacking and frequent consumption of large portion sizes.  This near-lack –of- awareness is different than a compulsive drive.  These individuals eat large amounts out of habit.  Lack of proper nutritional education may also play a small role.  Overly large serving sizes are served at nearly every fast food restaurant and every diner in America.  The phrase “get more for your money” is hardwired into the consumer mindset, and has become the motivator for a cut-throat food-service industry, to the detriment of consumer health.

 However, for many, the consumption of certain foods does involve compulsion.  Cravings drive choice.  Very large populations of Americans are dissatisfied with their bodies and their nutritional choices on a day-to-day basis.  They make nutritional choices that they know are not optimal and frequently overeat.  The diet industry has exploded over recent decades as obesity numbers continue to climb.  Obese sufferers of food addiction have been shown to exhibit a compulsive drive to excessively overeat: most namely, eating even when uncomfortably full and even when doing so will harm them physically and/or psychologically.  For example, in a study done by Cassin and von Ranson (2007), 94% of their adult samples classified themselves as “food addicts” or “compulsive overeaters,” meeting DSM-IV substance-dependence disorder criteria.

 But why do food addicts consume more food, and poorer quality food, than their body requires to function at an optimal level?  Is there some inherent quality to modern food that stimulates pleasure-related cortical pathways in some people more than others?  Is food really addictive?  And how did we get here with regards to the Obesity Epidemic?  What cultural movements and modern historical developments caused such a drastic rise in American obesity in such a short period of time?

This and subsequent posts will lay out an exhaustive argument for why compulsive overeating is in fact an addiction, caused by a complex interplay of factors including cultural stressors, lack of nutritional quality in modern food, and human neural maladaptational responses to consumption of these foods.  My argument will draw upon myriad medical, historical, and cultural literature for support, and will hopefully shed some light onto the dire condition within which a large percentage of the American population now resides: a condition that, I argue, has contributed greatly to the drastic rise in obesity in the United States over the past few decades.  Food addiction and compulsive overeating are not the sole cause for obesity, but they are the major player.