How can you tell if you're a possible food addict?

 

"What's really important," Ashton responded, "is that this is (part of) ongoing research (in which) people in the field of psychiatry are actually looking at whether or not people need to qualify food addiction as a real addiction. You can substitute drugs or gambling or smoking to any of the things that we're gonna talk about. What they ask is, do people need to eat more food than they initially planned? That can be one of the signs. Do you feel more sluggish after eating? Do you need to eat more food to feel better? And do you need to go out of your way to fulfill this quest -- do you need to go out of your way to get that doughnut or that fast food?"

 

To try to control the overeating, Ashton says, "The key is to know what your own triggers are and to behaviorally modify those responses. And again, like anything, if you know you're addicted to smoking, you want to set your environment up so that you don't find yourself confronted with that. Food is no different. This isn't the whole picture, but it's definitely a component of it."