Is Food the New Heroin?

[Lindsay Szymanski]

My name is Lindsay and I’m a food addict. Doesn’t really have the same gravity as saying I’m a heroin addict, but to me there is little difference. The new buzz word in the diet and fitness community is the thought that people who are obese or morbidly obese may suffer from compulsive overeating and food addiction. How can one be addicted to something that their body needs to function? It’s like suggesting there are people who suffer from oxygen addiction or who go on three-week water binges.

There are addiction recovery or “rehab” centres available for people who binge eat, and food addicts are treated in similar ways to those who have drug and alcohol addictions. There are 12-Step programs, based on the famous Alcoholics Anonymous model, called Overeaters Anonymous (OA). There is an OA big book, designed to put followers on the path to recovery. There are food addicts who steal food, hide it, eat in secret and adamantly deny they have any sort of affliction. So this leads me to question, is food the new heroin?

As someone who suffers from this disorder, I can tell you that there have been many times in my life when I’ve felt like an addict looking for my next fix. I’ve pulled into the drive-thru and ordered 3 or 4 complete meals, and ate them all, blissful when the fat, calories and caffeine began to pump through my veins and tickle my tongue with pleasure. My face would become flush as I started to metabolize the fat-laden goods and even before I was done the binge, my mind was already wandering to the next time I would be able to get “high.”

Crack, cocaine and heroin addicts often complain about being in situations, stressful or euphoric, where the desire to get high is so strong that their whole body aches. I get this anytime I see someone eating a delicious, gooey cheeseburger, or when I drive by KFC and the smell of deep fried chicken skin waft through the air.

Research has shown that I am not alone. According to the Cedric Centre for Eating Disorders in Victoria, BC, “Up to 70% of the population admit to overeating for emotional reasons more than once a month.” People choose food, like any other abused substance, so they “don't have to worry about any feelings or experiences in life that are scary, overwhelming, or out of our control.”

Food is one of the easier drugs to obtain, but unfortunately, it is the one with the most visible repercussions. Sure, there is the wan, heroin-chic look and ever-present track marks, but nothing says food addict like a 350 pound person lumbering through the aisles of the grocery store with a cart full of Oreos.

Many celebrities also turn to food as their addiction of choice. Although not as stigmatizing as drug and alcohol addiction, being overweight in their line of work can be equally devastating. Rosie O'Donnell,
Queen Latifah, Oprah and Kirstie Alley have all admitted to using food to mask emotional or stress-related pain, and the covers of People Magazine can attest to that.

So in this day and age is there a way to make it through life without being addicted to one or more substances? Is there a way to cope with the stresses of modern life without bingeing on food, drugs, alcohol, gambling or sex? And is food the least harmful of the lot? It may seem that having an addiction to food is somewhat less harmful than jacking your self up with crack cocaine, but in reality, it is just as deadly. With risks of high blood pressure, clogged arteries, heart disease and risk of stroke and breast cancer all being amplified with the more weight you have, it seems like food may not be the most appealing drug of choice, after all.

If people in modern society can find tools and techniques to cope with the struggles they face on an every day basis, it would make the need for substance abuse virtually non-existent. Of course there are people with deep-rooted emotional and psychological issues that they need to deal with, and the path to addiction is often unavoidable. Food may not be the new heroin, but if those pre-disposed to addiction pick up a hot dog instead of a needle, their chances for survival may not be greater, but it will definitely be tastier.

[Lindsay Szymanski]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jodi. It's incredible to me to see that when a woman starts opening up about unhealthy relationships with food, just how many other women also deal with similar issues. I think you're right about laying some of the blame on the media and the expectations women are faced with on a daily basis. I agree with Frank that accepting oneself for who they are is extremely important, and as I get older I am coming to terms with the fact that self-acceptance may be one of the paramount obstacles I will overcome in my life, as it very well may be with countless other women.

[Frank Moher]

That's an interesting answer to my question, Jodi. Thanks.

[Jodi]

I've been at war with food for most of my life. An overeater at an extremely young age, then anorexic from 15-17 and bulimic from 17-19/20 ... and it's been a battle, these last seven years to overcome my issues with food. As with other addictions, food is a coping mechanism and it's a very real problem. It is sad when something necessary for survival becomes addictive (or when depriving oneself of it becomes addictive) and I think, on a social/cultural level, food related addictions and afflictions are misunderstood. Thanks, Lindsay, for being so honest about yourself.

On another note, accepting ourselves is pretty tough these days, especially as a female. Not that men don't have self-acceptance issues, but we live in a society where women are constantly being judged and scrutinized based on their appearance (and not their talents or brains), and Hollywood has done a nice job of establishing a criteria for female beauty that is unrealistic. While we might be able to accept ourselves as we are, we know that the second we take a step out our front door, we are being judged.

[Lindsay Szymanski]

No, but I think it's easier said than done...

[Frank Moher]

Hmm. Is there really anything wrong with accepting ourselves as we are and living for as long as that provides?

[Lindsay Szymanski]

I think people who uses the "fat is beautiful" line are just looking for an excuse for their overeating behavour, rather than being accountable and acknowledging that they have a problem. I don't think fat is beautiful, but think it is very unheathy. (When I see pictures of myself, I can't believe that is what I really look like). I actually think that obesity is the same as suicide, so for me the lack of tolerance is the same.

I've tried OA, and honestly, it was not my thing. For me, my addiction is a very personal thing, and it seemed very foreign and unnatural to sit around listening to people talk about their binges. But then, what am I doing here?

[Eric Pettifor]

but nothing says food addict like a 350 pound person lumbering through the aisles of the grocery store with a cart full of Oreos.

And the buttons it pushes. Because there are groups who say that fat is beautiful. So, perhaps there is something wrong with me if I'm not perceiving beauty in the 350 pound person with the cart full of Oreos. But then tolerance of obesity is right next door to tolerance of suicide. But then, if we have rights over our bodies that must include the right to self termination... But that sounds rather callous... I suppose when it comes right down to it one must simply say live and let live, or even live and let die.

Have you tried OA? Would you recommend it?