#FOOD ADDICTS ANONYMOUS DAILY CALORIES MANUAL#
#FOOD ADDICTS ANONYMOUS DAILY CALORIES FULL#

Many individuals continue to overeat despite knowledge that overeating causes obesity and may contribute to or complicate serious health problems.

#FOOD ADDICTS ANONYMOUS DAILY CALORIES FULL#

Obesity can reduce an individualРІР‚в„ўs ability to participate in a full range of social, occupational, and recreational activities. Obese individuals often eat more than they intended and make frequent yet ultimately unsuccessful efforts to control overeating.

#FOOD ADDICTS ANONYMOUS DAILY CALORIES MANUAL#

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) 10 criteria for substance dependence appear to have external validity when applied to the excessive overeating that can lead to obesity. This contradiction suggests that the drive to consume food beyond what is necessary to maintain physical functions can outweigh other considerations. Yet few obese people achieve significant weight reduction, and even fewer manage to maintain weight loss. 9 Theoretically, treatment of obesity is simple: reduce food intake and increase physical activity. Obesity is associated with a host of medical problems, and treating obesity can result in improved health. Finally, we discuss implications of an addictions model of overeating to prevention and treatment of obesity. Next we explore underlying characteristics and potential brain mechanisms associated with both overeating and addictions and point out important differences between overeating and addictions to drugs and alcohol. We then discuss the implications of epidemiological and clinical studies showing positive and negative associations between obesity and substance use disorders in the general population.

First, we address whether obesity/overeating should be considered a psychiatric disorder with similar diagnostic criteria to substance use disorders. This paper examines literature supporting a relationship between obesity and addictions and discusses evidence for and against an addiction model of overeating.

8 Overeating may be one of those behaviors. 6 According to recent models, addiction is a syndrome that can be expressed through a variety of specific behaviors. 7 It is also becoming clear that repetitive engagement in many behaviors can lead to physiological changes in the brain similar to those observed in drug dependent individuals. The conceptual model of substance addictions has begun to change, however, with an increasing emphasis on the behavior of substance use rather than the chemical properties of the substances themselves. 5 Compulsive engagement in behaviors such as gambling, sex, or eating was not considered a true addiction, because the drive to engage in these behaviors was considered purely psychological. Traditionally, the term addiction was applied to excessive ingestion of substances leading to physical dependence, characterized by tolerance and withdrawal. 5 As new technologies for studying brain activity have emerged, scientists have begun to seriously investigate the theory that overeating can be a form of addictive behavior. Overeating has long been likened to drug and alcohol addictions in the popular imagination. 2, 3 Sedentary lifestyles and the wide availability of low cost, calorie dense foods contribute to this engergy imbalance, 4 but what makes individuals consume more food than they need to survive? Despite the seemingly simple relationship between energy balance and body weight, obesity is a complex and refractory condition. 1 In most cases, obesity results from a caloric imbalance- the number of calories consumed exceeds the number of calories expended. In the United States, 33% of men and 35% of women were classified as obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, in 2005-2006. In recent years, the prevalence of obesity and concern about its impact on public health have grown dramatically.

Food addicts anonymous daily calories