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Guest Post: The Psychology of Obesity

Posted by Matt on March 16th, 2010 at 12:19pm

This guest post comes from Freeman Michaels, a nationally known weight-release coach and seminar leader, and author of a new book about his successful approach, called Weight Release: A Liberating Journey (Morgan James Publishing, $16.95). You can find out more about him at www.servicetoself.com.

Food is much more than sustenance and fuel for our bodies. Food has a powerful effect on our psyche and subsequently on our behavior. Intellectually we may understand what types of food and what quantities are healthy. However, reason is no match for the chemical, emotional and psychological effects food wields over our intellect.

Eating for pleasure: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which affects the brain process related to reward and pleasure. A 2007 study, published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, showed that test subjects who had low levels of the chemical messenger dopamine tended to overeat in an attempt to stimulate the pleasurable feelings dopamine creates. Additionally, specific foods, such as sugar, tend to have a more dramatic effect on this neuro-chemical process.
Eating because it is there: Studies have shown that people will eat more if they are given larger portions. When food tastes “good” it is often hard to stop eating even when a person is full.
Eating out of habit: Associative behavior studies confirm that people are “creatures of habit”. Unhealthy eating habits are often related to associating certain foods with a particular event, environment or activity. For example, you may crave sweets at the movie theatre because you were brought up eating candy at the movies.

Diets don’t work because they are almost always focused on the types and amount of food a person “should” be eating. They fail to account for the psychological grip that food has on people. Patterns of behavior around food are not necessarily about the food itself. Unless a person is willing to look at the deeper associations and habits connected to their behavior no change in diet will be lasting.