Consumers besieged by unhealthy treats 'not addicted'

People are besieged by "treat foods" which are formulated to be far more appealing than healthier alternatives, Dr Mary Flynn, public health specialist at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, has said.

She was speaking at a conference exploring the idea of food addiction which was organised by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s consultative council.

Dr Flynn asked if there was anyone who did not struggle with their consumption of “treat foods”. “So is it food addiction? I don’t think so. I think we’re besieged by treat foods rather than addicted to them.”

High fat, high sugar and high salt foods were designed by scientific intelligence to appeal to our human senses in a way that completely surpassed the appeal of less processed food. “As well as being far more tempting, these foods are cheaper, more convenient and promoted much more aggressively than the foods we actually need for health. It’s an uneven competition and we are only human.”

She said the percentage of people in Ireland with a healthy weight was shocking, with just 13 per cent of men over 50 having a healthy weight.

Nutritionist Paula Mee said there was little evidence that any ingredient or food was addictive. "Hard drugs permanently rewire the brain. There is absolutely no evidence at the moment that food or any substance in food can permanently rewire the brain."

A small but significant proportion of the population had a problematic relationship with food and were in deep distress about it. “And there is very, very little help and knowledge available to them in general, particularly in Ireland.”

Prof Julian Mercer, head of obesity and metabolic health at the University of Aberdeen, said it was not helpful to tell overweight and obese people that they had a food addiction.

Most people gained weight slowly over years or decades and telling them they could blame it all on a food addiction would not solve their problem. That’s almost saying, well, ‘then it’s not my fault, it’s the food and drink industry’s fault for doing this’,” he said.

Opening the conference, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said studies showed that two out of three adults and one in four primary school children in Ireland were overweight or obese.