A recent study has found that Food Addiction in women is closely related to physical or sexual abuse as children. Addiction specialists understand that the psychological issues an addict has are the triggers to their addictive behaviours and the study has reinforced this. The study: Abuse victimization in childhood or adolescence and risk of food addiction in adult women by Susan Mason, Alan Flint, Alison Field, S Bryn Austin and Janet Rich-Edwards will lead the way to a greater understanding of the specialist treatment these women will need and will allow professionals in addiction treatment to offer the most effective models of care to the women seeking help. .
The studys survey highlighted that the link may be that the stress of dealing with abuse causes the sufferer to overeat, with their food of choice being that which is high in sugar and fat content.
Food addiction is diagnosed when a person displays three or more eating behaviours that cause them extreme distress or loss of function. Behaviours were assessed using the Yale Food Addiction Scale.
It was also found in the study that when a woman experienced the abuse before the age of 18 the likelihood of her developing a food addiction was doubled when compared with women who had experienced no abuse.
Although the writers of the study ask that caution is taken when using the findings and that further research may be needed, it certainly appears to strengthen the belief that there is a link and that addiction treatment is needed to offer these women a chance of recovery.
This addiction treatment would need to include models of care that can be introduced that look at prevention programmes for those women who are known to have been abuse victims and have started to display “addiction type behaviours”, but have yet to reach the stage where a Food Addiction has been diagnosed. Priority Treatment is able to arrange treatment in a treatment centre that offers the therapeutic programme needed. If you or someone you know needs help for an addiction to food, then make that call today
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