Obsession for food: 7 habits that are warning signs

Obsessions related to food are not only a characteristic of the presence of habits of eating disorders, but can also have a very negative impact on health even when a mental disorder has not developed.

Because, detect warning signs of obsession with food It is very important to prevent the enchantment of harmful habits both physically and socially.

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Why is it so easy to get hooked on food?

Starting to develop an obsession with food is easier than you would expect at first, especially for three reasons.

The first one is that, in Western societies, food is very easy to access, unlike legalized addictive substances such as alcohol or tobacco. Even in poor families, problems of malnutrition are often caused by a lack of ability to eat a healthy diet, not by the lack of food.

The second is that the food offers a good excuse to stop doing something and "disconnect" briefly making a trip to the kitchen. Even if it's just to stretch your legs after spending a lot of time in front of a computer or television screen, snapping between hours is a way to escape without having to depend on others.

The third and last reason has to do with the chemical composition of many of the ingredients with which a good part of the food products are manufactured. The abusive use of refined sugar, for example, is extremely widespread, and its function is simply to "hook" the consumer by offering an instant reward for having tasted the product.

• Maybe you're interested: "The 8 signs of alcohol addiction"

Signs that reveal obsession with food

In general, the warning signs that warn of the obsession with food are the following.

1. Little planning of meal schedules

Throw away any pretense of following a fixed schedule over meals It is one of the signs of the obsession with food, although not in all cases, since it can also indicate lack of time because of the amount of work you have.

However, when this pattern is associated with the obsession with food, the disorganization is very evident and can lead to eating at almost any time of the day or night; practically any time you are awake is a good time to go to the kitchen.

2. Meetings with friends as an excuse to eat

People who experience obsession with food do not tend to plan when they eat, but when they do so to attend restaurants, they need an alibi. That's why with often propose meetings with friends to go to dinner at restaurants , more times than normal and those that others consider acceptable.

3. The food reserve is closely monitored

People with obsession with food they are monitoring the amount of food they have . In addition, they ensure that there is a part of food that should not be cooked, and that therefore can be consumed instantaneously.

4. Mental traps to discount food

The obsession with food leads to eating a lot, but the person who experiences it invents "norms" that they allow you to believe that you have eaten less food of those who have really eaten.

For example, you may begin to believe that chopping between meals does not count as eating, or that shakes are not food and that drinking one is like drinking water.

5. Anxiety translates to trips to the fridge

Every time a stressful situation is experienced, it leads to immediately go to eat something, practically without delays. Food it is used as a tool of escapism to forget the past problems and the discomfort they produce.

6. Food is usually thought of

Other signs of obsession with food is think about it at length, simply to experience a sensation similar to what would be noticed when eating it. Follow blogs and profiles on social networks in which pictures of food are displayed (not as much as the recipes themselves) is also common, although by itself does not indicate any type of problem if it is not accompanied by other warning signs.

7. Less and less time is spent cooking

People who are obsessed with food try not to expose themselves to situations in which they have real food they can not test immediately , instead of that they can eat or snack between hours at the moment they want. That means that they devote less time to cooking and prefer to buy food or go to restaurants directly.