For many years, Sophia Pena struggled with an issue that many Americans face – a constant preoccupation with food. The concept of ‘food noise’ which is marked by persistent and intrusive thoughts about food and eating, made it challenging for Sophia to maintain a healthy weight. Many individuals living with obesity or being overweight battle this problem.
Being an individual who couldn’t stop thinking about food, the 32-year-old Sophia reflected on her experience, mentioning that she often pondered over the reasons for her constant anxiety over her next meal. She further elaborated that even while not requiring food, the thoughts hovered constantly like a background noise. Stressful instances heightened this noise exceptionally, especially when she attempted weight loss.
On realizing this, Sophia opened up about her concerns to her doctor, who helped her identify the phenomenon as ‘food noise’. The term ‘food noise’, although without a clinical definition, is seen among certain experts as a manifestation of elevated and persistent reaction to food cues. This often leads to intrusive thoughts about food, thus leading to unhealthy eating habits.
Understandably, food noise is an integral fragment of the pathophysiology that results in obesity in many individuals, believed to be a phenomenon akin to the neurobiochemical adversity seen in mental health disorders. Karl Nadolsky, a clinical endocrinologist and obesity specialist at Holland Hospital and clinical assistant professor of medicine at Michigan State University, corroborated this fact.
Relief dawned upon Sophia when she was informed more about food noise, particularly the fact that many others dealing with weight management also experience it. She expressed her relief over knowing that her inner struggle was not a result of weakness on her part. As per a study, 57% of overweight or obese individuals experience constant thoughts about food, while only 12% of them familiarize themselves with the term ‘food noise’.
Different people suffer from different symptoms at different times attributed to the heterogeneous nature of obesity. Katherine H. Saunders, an obesity physician at Weill Cornell Medicine, explained that an increase in hunger and food-related thoughts can occur due to disrupted hormonal pathways that result from obesity itself.
Sophia spent several years trying to deal with the noise, trying out numerous methods like regular exercise, the Keto diet, and even visiting a weight loss clinic, and although she lost weight, the noise at the back of her mind never vanished. The turning point came when she prescribed weight loss medication which helped her silence the noise, making her realize that these thoughts were pervasive and not something she consciously opted to think about.
Medicines playing a significant role in drowning out food noise have GLP-1s as their active component. These medicines aid in regulating the sensation of being full and slow down the emptying of the stomach. They also activate receptors for the hormone GLP-1, which are found in parts of the brain associated with motivation and reward, explaining why these medications help reduce food noise.
In addition to medication, focusing on high-quality, whole foods helps in dealing with food noise. Listening to music or podcasts also helped Sophia in tuning out the noise while not feeling physically hungry.
Even though managing food noise is a healthy habit, it isn’t the primary solution to end the obesity epidemic. More than 100 million adults live with obesity, with over 22 million adults grappling with severe obesity. Medically treating the underlying cause of the food noise through dietary strategies, behavioral techniques, obesity medications, and/or metabolic surgery is the most effective method to address the epidemic.
