Opinion: Have you ever heard of food addiction?

We all have to eat, is this just another modern fad gone too far?

When the Public Health Collaboration came to town, it was a key theme of their conference in the Crucible.

We were also treated to a free open event for the general public in Blend Kitchen, dedicated to Food Addiction.

So what is food addiction? To be more accurate it is really addiction to certain types of food.

Most commonly these are ultra high processed foods, usually high in carbohydrates (sugars). Although this concept is new to doctors like me, it was certainly very familiar to the 60 people in the room at Blend.

Everybody answered positive to at least one of the screening questions, and it was clear there was an overwhelming relief that what they experience day to day was finally being recognised. There were even tears.

It is clear that Food Addiction is real. Research shows it replicates the same brain chemistry and behaviour patterns as addiction to any other substance, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, as well as addictions like gambling and social media use. The food industry is playing on this vulnerability with packaging and marketing.

At the conference we heard form addiction experts who highlighted the most disabling feature, that of ‘compulsion’.

When you are addicted the pursuit of you ‘fix’ takes over and dominates your thinking and behaviour. How many of you have felt compelled to drive to the garage for a sugar fix late at night, or secretly stowed away snacks to binge eat on your own?

It was clear from discussions, that Food Addiction is very isolating, often leading to shame, and self-loathing, as people conceal what is going on. But it is much more common than you think, around 10% of the population.

I am especially interested in Food or Sugar Addiction due to the emergence of incredible insights around putting Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) into remission.

We are learning from practices across the country where teaching people to go ‘low carb’ is leading to high levels of drug free full remission. As high as 77% of those who adopted it in first year of diagnosis and averaging at around 20% across all people living with T2D. That is incredible.

But sugar addiction is really important. For many people, and I suspect a significant majority of those living with T2D, it is not as easy as simply reducing your carbohydrate intake. If addiction is involved, it requires the right type of very individualised support.

But the overwhelming message is one of hope. The two presenters in Blend Kitchen, Jen Unwin, and Ellen Calteau, are evidence to that.

They shared their own stories of decades of battling with their weight and the associated bullying and despair that comes with Food Addiction. They are both now long in remission, full of renewed life and energy.

They are leading the drive to raise awareness and connect people with resources to support recovery – see www.phcuk.org for details.

It feels to me as though we are on the cusp of a revolution of understanding and practice around obesity and diabetes management.

We are shifting our attention to sugar instead of fat, encouraging people to eat real unprocessed food, high in natural fat, and low in processed sugars and starches.

But to support people properly it feels like understanding and giving appropriate attention to Food Addiction is going to be key.

Jen Unwin’s book Fork in the Road, is a great places to start, with all proceeds going to the Public Health Collaboration charity.