Today thousands of bloggers, through the group Bloggers Unite, are joining together to write about stopping abuse. Many topics will be covered including child abuse, elder abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse, drug abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, political abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of abuse.
Abuse touches nearly everyone in one way or another. I have a 16 year old dog who was rescued from a local animal shelter by friends of ours. Junior, who’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever had, had a history of being abandoned three times. After my friends rescued him when he was 13, they realized he was afraid of water hoses so someone obviously beat him. We babysat him when they went on vacation and ended up keeping him. Now, three years later he’s a happy dog and spoiled. He no longer shows fear of hoses but occasionally flinches if you pat him on the back. The after effects of abuse are forever.
On the other hand abuse does not have to be an endless cycle handed down from generation to generation. My husband suffered physical and verbal abuse as a child from both of his alcoholic parents. He left home at 15 and worked to support himself while he finished high school. He grew into a fine man with an easy going and fun loving nature. The closest he ever gets to being abusive is stamping his foot at the cats when they're somewhere they don't belong. He ended the cycle his family had been mired in.
But I want to discuss a very different form of abuse seeing as my blog is about dieting and fitness. I want to bring up the topic of food abuse. Also known as food addiction, food abuse like drug abuse is a self inflicted and misunderstood problem. And it is as widespread as any other form of abuse or addiction.
Millions of people abuse food every day. The whys of food abuse are numerous; people overeat because it soothes, distracts, entertains, and in many creates a near drug-like high. Food becomes their friend, companion, lover, drug of choice. Food covers up or stuffs down emotions like loneliness, frustration, anger, fear, boredom, and is used in place of sexual satisfaction.
"Food addiction includes such symptoms as:
• food obsession;
• absence of self-control;
• pleasure and comfort created with eating;
• eating results in a cycle of bingeing in spite of the intellectual judgment of the individual or negative consequences;
• using food creates a physical craving which negates of food power over the person.
Some who abuse food feel helpless in the presence of food—as if bewitched by it. Their behavior is ruled by appetite and desire, not hunger—at least not biological hunger.” – Clarocet.com
What are the consequences of food abuse? The obvious one is weight gain and obesity (unless the food abuse is combined with a purging disorder such as bulimia or exercise anorexia or compulsive exercising). With obesity comes a number of health risks like heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
Beyond the physical consequences come social consequences. Although more of us are overweight or obese than ever before prejudice against fat people persists. Overweight and obese people earn less, are less likely to be promoted in the workplace, have less choices in partners, often marry less desirable partners. Even medical doctors and therapists have been found to hold negative views toward overweight patients. On July 25, 2006 a flaming session got out of hand at the Kevin M.D. website. Insults between supposed physicians blasting the overweight and obese and fat acceptance people blasting back went on for page after page. (Kevin M.D. was not personally involved, and if anyone want to read the flaming session and can't find it online I have a transcript). And the list goes on.
Many food abusers react to the emotional distress of weight prejudice and weight gain by eating more and a vicious cycle is set in motion. A food abuser overeats to soothe emotions, later feels guilty for overeating, faces the prejudice of others, feels bad again, and overeats again to escape and feel better…temporarily.
If you suffer from food abuse or addiction there is help. You can enter recovery, mitigate and sometimes reverse the damage to your body, your physical and mental health, and your social life.
Below are links to determine whether you suffer from food abuse and where to get help:
Compulsive Overeating; Definition and Signs
Escaping The Overeating Rut
Get to know about different types of food addictions, their symptoms such as Binge Eating disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa. Find the info about treatment types of any food disorder.
Alcohol and Food Abuse: Some Comparisons
Mental Help.net on Eating Disorders
Something Fishy
ED Referral
Help Guide To Eating Disorders
Fast Food Addiction and Sugar Addiction is similar to Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Fat and Class Prejudice: America’s Two-Body Society
