Food War: The battle between aging and maintaining a healthy relationship with food
By: Isabella Kicklighter
A new poll suggests that 1 in 8 Americans over the age of 50 are indulging in the next big addiction, food.
The U-M poll found that 13% of Americans, between the ages of 50-80 years old, showed signs of addiction to foods and beverages commonly referred to as “Junk Food.” The poll also suggests that more women are affected by this addiction than men.
Suzi White, a 57 year old who lives in SouthEast Georgia, finds herself frequently indulging in these junk foods at night sitting on the couch after a long day of work. “Now that I think about it, every night instead of drinking my parents would eat chocolate and potato chips and I do the same thing,” said White.
When told about the results from the poll White was not surprised and said that to combat stress she often turns to food for comfort. “I try to keep bad foods out of my house but when they're there I undoubtedly reach for them,” said White.
When humans consume sugary and starchy foods like chocolate with potato chips it actually increases the amount of serotonin created which then makes a person feel calmer and decreases the impact of stress hormones. Similar reactions are mimics with other addictive substances.
Addiction is a scary word but in order for a substance, like junk food, to meet the criteria for an addiction, participants in the poll had to report experiencing at least two of the 11 symptoms of addiction after consuming highly processed food.
“Highly processed foods consist of salt, sugars, and fats, which can cause an increase of dopamine in the brain. This makes people have the feeling of cravings,” said registered dietician, Pamela Hoffsetter. Hoffsetter explained that overall health already declines with age and must be maintained with a reasonable diet, regular exercise and sleep. “Healthy habits are a big part of improving life and can help to steer people away from reaching for unhealthy things like chips or candy,” said Hoffsetter.
Hoffsetter advises individuals on how they can create easy, healthy lifestyles that meet the unique needs of their life. Advising to slow down and really think about one's health and working to implement good practices into daily life.
Kimberly Emanuel, age 54, did just that, slowed down when her life turned upside down. At age 44 Emanuel exercised daily running for miles but that did not stop her southern living diet from making her have a heart attack. “It put my mortality into perspective, the cardiologist said it was probably due to my high cortisol levels caused by my southern fried diet from childhood into adulthood,” said Emanuel.
Cortisol is a stress hormone and when increased in the body it can make the body highly stressed, making the idea of reaching for junk food more appealing as the body seeks a dopamine rush from the sugars and fats.
Cortisol can even make someone gain weight or hold onto existing weight. In other words, high stress levels can make a person gain weight.
Emanuel had to change and quickly. She turned to studying about healthy foods and how to reduce her stress levels in a way that would be productive. She began a lifestyle that she keeps up with to this day. “I have been meal prepping for the last eight years, making sure I prioritize healthy foods while still allowing myself to eat out every once in a while. I also like to reduce my stress by going to the beach or doing yoga,” said Emanuel.
A dominating factor in the battle against unhealthy eating is stress. Lowering the release of stress hormones will decrease the body’s desire to create serotonin or dopamine from consuming junk foods and could possibly move Americans one step further to beating food addiction.
The topic of food addiction is still widely miss understood and it is important to remember that each person's healthy lifestyle is unique to their own needs and medical history. There is no one step solution. A long road of research needs to be done to fully understand the relationship between chemical reactions in the body and consumption of foods that are deemed unhealthy.
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The U-M poll found that 13% of Americans, between the ages of 50-80 years old, showed signs of addiction to foods and beverages commonly referred to as “Junk Food.” The poll also suggests that more women are affected by this addiction than men.
Suzi White, a 57 year old who lives in SouthEast Georgia, finds herself frequently indulging in these junk foods at night sitting on the couch after a long day of work. “Now that I think about it, every night instead of drinking my parents would eat chocolate and potato chips and I do the same thing,” said White.
When told about the results from the poll White was not surprised and said that to combat stress she often turns to food for comfort. “I try to keep bad foods out of my house but when they're there I undoubtedly reach for them,” said White.
When humans consume sugary and starchy foods like chocolate with potato chips it actually increases the amount of serotonin created which then makes a person feel calmer and decreases the impact of stress hormones. Similar reactions are mimics with other addictive substances.
Addiction is a scary word but in order for a substance, like junk food, to meet the criteria for an addiction, participants in the poll had to report experiencing at least two of the 11 symptoms of addiction after consuming highly processed food.
“Highly processed foods consist of salt, sugars, and fats, which can cause an increase of dopamine in the brain. This makes people have the feeling of cravings,” said registered dietician, Pamela Hoffsetter. Hoffsetter explained that overall health already declines with age and must be maintained with a reasonable diet, regular exercise and sleep. “Healthy habits are a big part of improving life and can help to steer people away from reaching for unhealthy things like chips or candy,” said Hoffsetter.
Hoffsetter advises individuals on how they can create easy, healthy lifestyles that meet the unique needs of their life. Advising to slow down and really think about one's health and working to implement good practices into daily life.
Kimberly Emanuel, age 54, did just that, slowed down when her life turned upside down. At age 44 Emanuel exercised daily running for miles but that did not stop her southern living diet from making her have a heart attack. “It put my mortality into perspective, the cardiologist said it was probably due to my high cortisol levels caused by my southern fried diet from childhood into adulthood,” said Emanuel.
Cortisol is a stress hormone and when increased in the body it can make the body highly stressed, making the idea of reaching for junk food more appealing as the body seeks a dopamine rush from the sugars and fats.
Cortisol can even make someone gain weight or hold onto existing weight. In other words, high stress levels can make a person gain weight.
Emanuel had to change and quickly. She turned to studying about healthy foods and how to reduce her stress levels in a way that would be productive. She began a lifestyle that she keeps up with to this day. “I have been meal prepping for the last eight years, making sure I prioritize healthy foods while still allowing myself to eat out every once in a while. I also like to reduce my stress by going to the beach or doing yoga,” said Emanuel.
A dominating factor in the battle against unhealthy eating is stress. Lowering the release of stress hormones will decrease the body’s desire to create serotonin or dopamine from consuming junk foods and could possibly move Americans one step further to beating food addiction.
The topic of food addiction is still widely miss understood and it is important to remember that each person's healthy lifestyle is unique to their own needs and medical history. There is no one step solution. A long road of research needs to be done to fully understand the relationship between chemical reactions in the body and consumption of foods that are deemed unhealthy.
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Resources:
Suzi White, 50+ American resident, (912)674-0081
Kimberly Emanuel, 50+ American Resident, (904)553-0919
Pamela Hoffsetter, Registered Dietitian, (912)507-2645
Elizabeth Scott, P. D. (2022, November 16). How stress can cause weight gain. Verywell Mind. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-stress-can-cause-weight-gain-3145088
Borough of Manhattan Community College.Why we crave comfort food and how to make it healthier. CUNY Newswire. (2020, December 10). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2020/12/10/84906/ .
University of Michigan: Instituted for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.1 in 8 Americans over 50 show signs of food addiction, U-M Poll finds. Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/1-8-americans-over-50-show-signs-food-addiction-u-m-poll-finds