Addiction to processed foods more common among older Americans

The poll is based at the UM Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, UM’s academic medical center.

The survey team and UM psychologist Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., used a set of 13 questions to measure whether, and how often, older adults experienced key indicators of addiction in their relationship with highly addictive foods. processed foods such as sweets, salty snacks, sugary drinks and fast food. These indicators of addiction include intense cravings, an inability to cut down, and signs of withdrawal.

Based on their findings, Gearhardt suggests that the same set of standard questions should be part of screening in doctors’ offices. This could help identify older people with addictive eating habits who could benefit from referrals to nutrition counseling or programs that help people combat addictive eating or gain affordable access to healthier foods.

Gearhardt, an associate professor in UM’s Department of Psychology and a fellow at IHPI, co-developed the standardized questionnaire used in the survey, called the Yale Food Addiction Scale.

Why is junk food so addictive?

“The word addiction may sound strong when it comes to food, but research has shown that our brains also react strongly to highly processed foods, especially those that contain the most sugar, simple starches and fats. , than tobacco, alcohol and other addictive substances,” says Gearhardt.

“Just like smoking or drinking, we need to identify and reach out to those who have adopted unhealthy drinking habits and help them develop a healthier relationship with food.”

In order to meet the criteria for a highly processed food addiction on the scale used in the survey, seniors had to report experiencing at least two of 11 symptoms of addiction in their consumption of highly processed foods, as well as report a high food consumption. distress or related life problems several times a week. These are the same criteria used to diagnose problems related to addiction to alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances.

According to these criteria, addiction to highly processed foods has been observed in:

• 17% of adults aged 50-64 and 8% of adults aged 65-80
• 22% of women aged 50 to 64 and 18% of women aged 50 to 80,
• 32% of women who say their physical health is fair or poor, and 14% of men who say the same – more than twice the percentages among those who say their physical health is excellent, very good or good
• 45% of women who say their mental health is fair or poor, and 23% of men who say the same – three times higher than the percentages among those who say their mental health is excellent, very good or good
• 17% of men who say they are overweight, compared to 1% of men who say they are about the right weight
• 34% of women who say they are overweight, compared to 4% who say they are about the right weight
• 51% of women who say they often feel isolated from others, and 26% of men who say the same – compared to 8% of women and 4% of men who say they rarely feel isolated

The most commonly reported symptom of an addiction to highly processed foods in older adults was intense food cravings. Nearly 1 in 4 (24%) said that at least once a week they crave a highly processed food so badly they couldn’t think of anything else. And 19% said that at least 2-3 times a week they had tried unsuccessfully to cut down or stop eating this type of food.

Twelve percent said their eating behavior caused them a lot of distress 2-3 times a week or more.

“Clinicians need to better understand how food addiction and problematic eating intertwine with the physical and mental health of their patients, including chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer,” says poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MPH, MS, associate professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine and physician and researcher at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

“We need to understand that cravings and behaviors around food are rooted in brain chemistry and heredity, and that some people may need extra help, just as they would quitting smoking or smoking. drink.”

The survey report is based on the results of a nationally representative survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the IHPI and administered online and by telephone in July 2022 to 2,163 adults aged 50 at 80 years old. The sample was then weighted to reflect the US population.

Source: Eurekalert