Addictions Ashamictions

I feel like I have been bombarded with the topic of addiction this week. Earlier this week I sat down with co-workers at lunch and chatted about the food industry and how they make food addictive to us consumers. One person said that she had read an article in which the author explained the science and combination of additives and fats and attractiveness that make it impossible for us to resist certain foods. In it the author exclaims that people should not feel bad about the fact that they just cannot stop eating those Lays potato chip, pasta at the Olive Garden, and Snickers bars because they are a victim of the food industry. The makers of these products have done research on the perfect combination of all that is unhealthy so as to seduce you into a food oblivion.

Now I don't know about you, but I have seen addiction. We typically think of addiction to drugs or alcohol or cigarettes, or whatever. We watch this from the privacy of our own homes through shows like Intervention and Addiction amongst many others. This is what a lot of people think of when they hear the word addiction; needles, bags, deceit, depression, dependency. I even worked for an agency that did research with addicts, so I have "seen it all" so to speak.

If there is one thing I learned through a lot of these media outlets and personal experience, it is that an addict who seeks treatment of any sort needs to be willing to take responsibility, to admit that they have a problem, to understand what is causing them to continue with the addictive behavior.

Of course I do not know what article I am referencing here, but how is it ok then for the author of that article to tell people that it's ok to overeat and to tell them not to feel bad that they are doing so because the fault lies with the manufacturers, developers, etc of these products. This seems a little ridiculous to me. If people who are addicted to crack must must admit their wrongdoing and that they are part of the problem, than those with addictions to food should follow the same path. We shouldn't be telling people to blame others for their addiction.

I never thought so much about food addiction. It seems like an inconceivable concept to most because it is food...not crack, not alcohol, not any of the things that society looks down upon. In our society it is socially acceptable to overindulge....as long as you stay thin that is.