09/23/2025
๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ฆ๐? ๐๐ค๐
Although still an emerging concept, some experts have defined it as "persistent thoughts about food that are disruptive to daily life and make healthy behaviors difficult." Some describe it as an obsessive preoccupation with food. These continuous thoughts can make it harder to change lifestyle habits and affect whether one can lose weight and keep it off. Food noise can lead to feelings of guilt, stress or anxiety around food, weight-related medical conditions, and disordered eating. According to psychologist and nationally known obesity researcher Tom Wadden, PhD, โFood noise is brought on by sights, smells, tastes, and even discussions of food. Food noise has little to do with a biological need to keep your body running smoothly, and as a result, itโs not silenced just because you eat."
Why some people struggle with food noise is not entirely clear, but what appears to be likely is that food noise is related to GLP-1 production (a hormone in the gut). In a lab experiment testing responses to food cues, scientists found that brain scans showed much more activity in response to food pictures in participants with obesity than in participants who weighed less. Researchers then looked at brain scans after giving people a GLP-1 drug or a placebo and found brain activity dropped significantly in response to food cues when people took a GLP-1 drug. With the medications helping to raise GLP-1 levels in the body, they can in turn help quiet the noise.
Other ways to deal with food noise include behavioral and lifestyle changes. According to Dr. Wadden โSuch interventions can help people cope with food noise, but the interventions do not eliminate the noise, as the drugs do for many people."