Addictions are a very serious topic of discussion which has recently flooded the media. There are several types of addiction, each with a respective magnitude, and food addictions fall into this category. Food addiction is often pushed to the side by addictions deemed more detrimental by society. This accusation of food addictions not being detrimental does not accurately represent the magnitude of the situation. There are several categories of food addiction and one of these is the addiction to sweets, in particular chocolate. A thorough background about addictions needs to addressed when evaluating chocolate addictions as well as the psychological and physiological responses to the consumption of chocolate in chocoholics. Ways to help addicts also need to be addressed.
Addiction is something that appears to be a plague in modern society. There are many factours that contribute to something being considered an addiction. Addiction can be defined as a condition where the substance or behavior is used for an extended period of time and provides either favourable rewards or incentives to continue pursuing the behaviour even at the detriment to oneself. This is highly problematic as it can contribute to both mental and physical dependencies and cause health problems. Substances, like chocolate or alcohol, and behaviours both contribute to abuse and addiction which activates neuropathways in the brain, in turn, activating dopamine and thus causing satisfaction. This means that the uses of these substances can cause a chemical dependence on the released dopamine.
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The disorder of addiction can contribute to several different mental and physical conditions. Many of the affected subjects portray symptoms of anxiety disorders, depression, and have strong cravings to continue to pursue the detrimental task. These prolonged activities can lead to tolerances which mean that the continued process using the substance or completing the rewarding experience causes a need for increased amounts of the substance and behavior to get the same desired effect. This means that addiction can cause the need to continually complete the action at a higher frequency to get the same amount of satisfaction from the task. When the addict tries to stop this negative cycle, the withdraw will start and cause several negative effects both psychologically and physiologically.
Using this definition, over eating chocolate can be considered a substance abuse and its physiological and psychological effects need to be evaluated. Several studies have been done to evaluate the physiological effects of chocolate. In one study, younger women were shown images of chocolate while eliciting and measuring cardiac defense and startle reflexes and compared the results to the self-reported craving levels. This paper suggested that the strong reflexes were associated with negative stimuli and reduced when the subject has positive stimuli. The responses were measured using a software program. This means that if the women showed a strong reflex to the image of chocolate, they are not chocolate addicts: the reverse would be true if they show reduced reflexes. Rodríguez et al. found that the higher craving group had higher state cravings in response to the picture cues. The paper later goes on the discuss possible treatments for the chocolate addictions. The authors suggest that using exposure response-prevention by using cues to stimulate appetite and adverse sensations.
Another study used an H215O – PET scan to measure the regional cerebral blood flows and compare it to the subjects’ responses about chocolate intake. This type of study mixes the measurement of the physical release of chemicals with the subjection of answering survey questions. The blood flows from the cerebral cortex are related to the changing reward values which helped to test response to satiety. By testing this satiation, higher tolerances can be drawn and possible addiction could be isolated. Using self-proclaimed chocolate lovers as subjects with a majority considering themselves chocoholics, they consumed chocolate before the PET scan and then rated their satisfaction with the chocolate. The results were evaluated and it was found that different parts of the brain were activated during the positive and negative stimuli of chocolate which reveals information that can be helpful to addiction treatment and eating disorders. While there are several physiological symptoms, there are also some psychological symptoms from which chocoholics might suffer.
Several psychological symptoms can be seen in addiction as well. Some studies evaluating chocoholics have found that the subjects ate a larger amount of chocolate when compared to the control group. The results of the study by Macdiarmid and Hetherington found that the chocoholic subjects associated depression, guilt, and higher cravings before their high consumptions while after they rated their guilt to be much higher thus relating their pleasure with guilt. Another study showed that addicts tended to have greater cravings, have more negative feelings such as depression, and felt more aroused by chocolate. This means that the chocoholic subjects were more negatively influenced when they craved chocolate and ate past the point of satiation. Logically, these feelings can lead to problem eating.
The feeling and need to consume large amounts of chocolate can be dangerous and addictive. Some of the common signs that someone is addicted to chocolate includes intense cravings, loss of control, and continued use despite detrimental consequences. These align with the previously discussed symptoms. Chocolate is thought to be addictive due to the sugar and fat contained in the product. The high amounts of fat and sugar can increase the risk of obesity in subjects, especially when eating is out of control. This means that being addicted to chocolate could be correlated with obesity. There are ways to help addicts including therapy, detoxification, and life skills training. These taught behaviors could help addicts to change their ways and become healthier.
Addictions have many symptoms, which causes both physiological and psychological responses, and several ways to help addicts cope without the substance are available. Learning how to spot substance abuse and addiction can help loved ones to recognize their behaviors. As far as food addictions are concerned, chocolate addictions are serious and can result in obesity and feelings of guilt and depression.
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