Addiction to Highly Pleasurable Food as a Cause of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: A Qualitative Internet Study Looking at Childhood Obesity as an addiction may be warranted. I do not believe that addition to hyperpalatable foods is the ONLY contributor to our childhood obesity epidemic. I do believe that our highly processed and technologically manipulated foods are playing havoc on our taste buds and our inherent satiation triggers. This study addresses some real issues of uncontrolled eating by our youth. We should sit up and pay attention… “Children have difficulty obtaining tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, but they have ready access to hyperpalatable foods. When bored, stressed, or depressed they may use such foods as a “drug of comfort,” which is more acceptable than tobacco, alcohol, and drugs of abuse.” “Given that childhood obesity interventions show

marginal online casino canada success rates with generally poor long-term results (Whitlock, O”Connor, Williams, Beil, & Lutz, 2010), and given that the impact of physical activity is in question (Metcalf et al., 2010), it may be sensible to add in substance dependence methods (addiction medicine) to weight management programs. Further, the reasons that youth seek comfort in pleasurable foods (i.e., to alleviate sadness, stress, and boredom) and thereby may

develop dependency, should be addressed. As one child concluded: “If parents took the time to actually listen to their kids … less kids would go to the fridge when they were depressed” (female, age 12, 5″3″, 186 lbs).” “Youth in this study appear to be victims of boredom, stress, and depression in an addictive, comfort food environment. Accordingly, it may be prudent to limit exposure and access by children to highly pleasurable foods (e.g., sugar-sweetened beverages, junk food, and fast food).” http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10640266.2011.584803