WITH THE GROWING popularity of GLP-1s, food noise is a phrase that keeps coming up in conversation. Many people online have spoken about food noise, with some saying it was silenced immediately after starting GLP-1 medication.
Food noise can happen to anybody, and yet there’s a vague understanding of what it actually means. The term still lacks an official definition. “Food noise is a relatively new concept,” adds Kiu Chui, PhD, RD, a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center.
While people have likely been struggling with it for decades, the idea that food noise is a thing that needs to be addressed in the context of weight loss only caught fire over the past few years.
It’s hard to know if food noise is an issue for you if you’re not even aware of what it is sounds like. Below, people list examples of the sounds of food noise in their head and five signs that could suggest you have it.
What Exactly is Food Noise?
LET’S FIRST TALK about what isn’t food noise. It’s not the sound of food when you’re chewing. It isn’t deciding between two meals at a restaurant. Now here’s the general consensus:
“’Food noise’ is used to describe persistent, intrusive thoughts about food, eating, cravings, or when the next meal is coming,” explains Sandra Zhang, RDN, LDN, dietitian at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center. “It can feel like a constant mental background chatter around food, even when someone is not physically hungry.”
Now it’s not an auditory hallucination, says Amy Mechley, MD, family and lifestyle medicine physician at Integrated Family Care. People aren’t literally hear voices or sounds. Instead, the mind has constant internal thoughts about food.
Examples can range from a constant reminder of snacks in the break room to obsessing over what’s for dinner (despite just finishing lunch). Then, when you do eat, the conversation can shift to guilt and shame of how much you just ate, how many calories you ingested, or how much you need to diet or exercise tomorrow to compensate.
“There is a certain level of pressure and persistence to these thoughts that make them difficult to ignore and interfere with someone’s ability to move on to their next task or concentrate on a conversation or their work,” says Kelly Allison, PhD, director of Penn Medicine’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders. She adds that food noise is distracting, upsetting, and mess with people’s concentration if the mind won’t quit badgering about food. Quieting food noise can make it harder to pursue healthy eating behaviors and choices.
What Food Noise Can Sound Like
MANY WILL DEAL with “constant internal chatter” about food, says Chui. That can include thoughts like these:
- “What should I eat next?”
- “Am I eating enough?”
- “I shouldn’t eat that, but I really want it”
Below are visual examples of food noise.
How Many People Have Food Noise?
THERE ARE NO robust studies on how many people struggle with food noise. Zhang points out that’s because food noise isn’t a formal diagnosis yet.
The data that is available suggests it’s common, especially in people trying to lose weight. One report suggests that about 57 percent of people with overweight or obesity deal with food noise.
According to Allison, there aren’t cut-offs to say when someone is dealing with food noise or not. “However, both men and women experience food noise.”
How to Know If You Have Food Noise
IF YOU SHARE any of these signs, Zhang says you may be dealing with food noise:
- You think about food constantly.
- You’re mentally distracted by cravings.
- You eat, even when you’re full.
- You feel anxious around food.
- You spend a lot of time planning, restricting, or compensating for eating.
Again, food noise isn’t a sign of weak willpower. If you’re dealing with food noise and it’s interfering with your health or ability to go about your day, Allison recommends speaking to a healthcare provider for an evaluation and next steps. That may involve therapy or maybe a GLP-1 medication.
How Do GLP-1s Quiet Food Noise?
YOU HAVE GLP-1 receptors in your brain, including in areas involved in eating behavior. Allison explains that GLP-1 medications cross the blood-brain barrier and increase the amount of GLP-1 received at those receptors. The result is less thoughts about food.
“Many individuals say they feel ‘normal’ when taking these medications,” says Allison. “They are able to eat a meal and move on with their day.” These medications also reduce appetite and act on the brain’s reward system, Chui says. That can make you feel fuller, longer and also reduce cravings—all helpful in muting food noise.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
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