Food Conference Explores Evidence for Food Addiction An open meeting was held to discuss the topic of food addiction and explore the possibilities of being addicted to certain food products by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s (FSAI) Food Safety Consultative Council (FSCC) this week.
The forum, titled ‘Food Addiction – Believe it or Not?’ opened with Leo Varadkar, Minister for Health, stating that food consumption and health are closely connected. This open meeting provided international and national experts the opportunity to listen and debate the attitudes and consumption patterns of consumers, and whether addictive behaviours can be a result of different food choices.
“Studies now show that two out of three Irish adults, and one in four primary school children are overweight or obese”, said Minister Varadkar, “Fortunately, a number of initiatives aimed at tackling obesity are now in place and many more are planned. I hope we can make progress in this important area in the future, particularly through the Government’s Healthy Ireland initiative”.
“Now, more than ever there is a plethora of sometimes conflicting information on how what we eat is impacting on public and individual health. Our experts will seek to dispel some myths and gives us facts on whether good addiction is a reality or simply a misinterpretation,” said Veronica Campbell, Chair, FSCC.
Dr Mary Flynn, Chief Specialist: Public Health Nutrition, said that people tend to believe that a reason for addiction comes from their inability to avoid eating snacks and treats, but in reality high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt foods are specially designed to appeal to our human senses and pass beyond a point of the need for nourishment.
Furthermore, she explained that “as well as being far more tempting, these foods are cheaper, more convenient and promoted much more aggressively than foods we actually need for health. It’s an uneven competition and we are only human”.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Kalli Ringelberg
