According to a recent study, children who have parents who have had alcoholism issues are more likely to exhibit indicators of processed food addiction.
The Journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors published the paper. Unnaturally high levels of refined carbs and fats can cause some people to develop an addiction to highly processed foods like ice cream, chocolate, pizza, and fries.
Researchers at the University of Michigan wanted to discover if a parent with alcoholism, a major risk factor for addiction, also predicted a higher chance of addiction to highly processed foods.
This clinically serious addiction to highly processed foods, characterised by a loss of control over consumption, strong cravings, and an unwillingness to cut back despite unpleasant effects, appears to affect up to 1 in 5 people.
Lindzey Hoover, a U-M psychology graduate student and the study’s lead author, stated, “People who have a family history of addiction may be at greater risk of developing a problematic relationship with highly processed foods, which is really challenging in a food environment where these foods are cheap, accessible, and heavily marketed.”
The study found that people with food addiction were also more likely to experience personal issues with alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, and vaping. However, addictive responses did not stop with food.
The main causes of avoidable death in the modern world are diets that are dominated by foods that have been heavily processed and the excessive consumption of addictive substances.
According to this study, interventions are required to simultaneously decrease addictive food and drug usage.
Hoover noted that “public health approaches that have reduced the harm of other addictive substances, like restricting marketing to kids, may be important to consider to reduce the negative impact of highly processed foods.”