Food Addiction Health, Medicine, Nursing Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Food Addiction
BIO 2500 Fundamentals of Nutrition
Galen College School of Nursing
Food Addiction
The term food addiction was first described by Theron Randolph as an adaptation to food, similar to those experienced in substance use disorders (Randolph, 1956). This subject was not popular until the beginning of the 21st century. It however, garnered attention of many researchers who embarked on establishing its possible link to the rising cases of obesity (Cocores & Gold, 2009).
Only a few studies have assessed various foods for their addictive effect, this has resulted in many controversies around the subject (Pursey, Collins, Stanwell, & Burrows, 2015). A recent research, Hauck, Weib, Schulte, Meule, and Ellrott (2017) established that, the prevalence of food addiction is about 8% of the general population. Compared to a previous research by Pedram et al. (2013), the figures increased by 3% from 5% in 2013. This translates into an estimated 1% yearly increment of the incidence. Additionally, Pedram et al. (2013) identified women (7%) and people who are overweight or obese (8%), as the most affected. Similarly, Pursey, Stanwell, Gearhardt, Collins, and Burrows (2014), documented a higher prevalence of up to 20% in a meta-analysis. The research papers included in this paper, however, had samples which were predominantly women and overweight or obese individuals.