Food addiction has become a popular notion in the media and scientific community, with many proposing that an addiction to food causes obesity. An article published in this journal in December 2017 by Tompkins et al. asserted that food addiction poses a barrier to the treatment of adolescent obesity. This review questions some of the methods, results, and perspectives offered by Tompkins et al. It also considers the extant evidence overall about this construct. The data about food addiction provide minimal support for the discriminant validity of this conceptualization relative to depressed binge eating. We believe that the evidence suggests that the potential harm outweighs the benefits of encouraging researchers, clinicians, and especially obese people to view food addiction as a cause of obesity or a barrier to effective weight management. Ultimately, this review concludes that the construct of food addiction does not serve the interests of those striving to lose weight permanently (i.e., weight controllers) nearly as well as an alternative perspective: weight controllers are athletes, not food addicts.

The Food Addiction Construct May Do More Harm Than Good: Weight Controllers Are Athletes, Not Addicts.

Developing a broader understanding of children and young people's experiences of long-term attempts of weight management may provide insight into both enablers and barriers to successful weight loss maintenance. This review aims to explore children and young people's perceptions of long-term attempts of weight management. Six databases were searched for qualitative studies describing young participants ( 6 months following intentional weight loss. A thematic synthesis was undertaken. Themes were interpreted using the Socio-ecological Model. Factors supporting attempts to maintain weight loss included having clear motivation for change; developing personal skills to manage the challenges of change; family support/dynamics that encourage healthy lifestyles; and health-promoting cultures in schools/workplaces, communities, and the broader living environment. Conversely, ambivalence, difficulty coping with changes, peer pressure, challenging family dynamics, limited professional support, and unhealthy living environments were barriers to maintaining behavior change. These facilitators and barriers at each level of the Socio-ecological Model informed a model of weight loss maintenance for children and young people. Supporting children, young people, and families to develop the skills to manage the individual, social, and environmental challenges that shape attempts of long-term weight management will help to support their ability to manage their weight long term.

Understanding children and young people's experiences pursuing weight loss maintenance using the Socio-ecological Model: A qualitative systematic literature review.

Adolescent girls report low participation in healthy behaviors (e.g., nutritious eating and exercise), and are disproportionately affected by obesity. Short-term interventions, such as behavioral summer camps, may positively influence psychological underpinnings of healthy behavior, particularly exercise identity (EI) and healthy eater identity (HEI). The present study investigates disparities and changes in identity and subsequent health behavior in two cohorts of adolescent girls following a brief, multicomponent intervention. A sample of normal-weight adolescent girls from a health promotion camp and an elevated body mass index (BMI) sample from an obesity treatment camp participated in the study. Both camps ran one-week in duration and delivered comparable intervention components. All families were given access to the same eight-week eHealth program post-camp. Significant EI and HEI role-identity disparities between the health promotion and obesity treatment cohorts were apparent at baseline. Following the one-week camp intervention, EI and HEI scores increased in both groups. At follow-up, the treatment group had increased EI and HEI role-identities in such that the groups no longer significantly differed. Positive changes in health behaviors were experienced in each group. This pilot study demonstrates that EI and HEI differ between normal-weight and obese adolescent girls and weight-dependent identity disparities may be mitigated following brief, multicomponent interventions.

Weight-Dependent Disparities in Adolescent Girls: The Impact of a Brief Pilot Intervention on Exercise and Healthy Eater Identity.

Food Addiction: Not All Individuals Attempting to Lose Weight Are Addicts nor Are All Athletes Either.

Background: The Healthy Obsession Model posits that committed weight controllers develop preoccupations with the planning and execution of target behaviors to reach healthy goals. We expected that successful weight controllers, more so than unsuccessful weight controllers, would report more elaborate definitions of their healthy obsessions, negative reactions to lapses, and constructive responses to high-risk situations. We also expected to find differential sources of commitment between losers and gainers, including a greater emphasis on emotional and experiential consequences by losers, as documented in the authors' 2012 study. Methods: Sixteen adolescent participants who had completed cognitive-behavior therapy immersion treatment for obesity at least 1 year before the interviews (8 successful and 8 unsuccessful weight controllers) completed in-depth interviews based on the Scanlan Collaborative Interview Method. A qualitative analysis followed in which two coders identified themes within the ...

Kristen J. Caraher

Papers

"I see inspiration everywhere": potential keys to nurturing healthy obsessions by very successful young weight controllers.