When thinking about catalysts for addiction, illicit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes tend to be top-of-mind for consumers. A recent study entitled “Food as Drug: Americans Are on a Sugar High” conducted by ORC International for Wellspring Camps, an affiliate of RiverMend Health, in February 2015, found that nearly all Americans (92%) surveyed believe that food is another form of addiction. Emphasizing this thought is the fact that 66 percent of respondents believe it can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to fully recover from “carb” addiction, further demonstrating that food can have similar effects on the brain and body as illicit drugs have.
Despite aligning food with other severe addictions, nearly half (48%) of respondents also shared that they believe lack of motivation to exercise is the largest hindrance to weight control, which highlights pervasive misperceptions in American society about how people gain weight and struggle with obesity. Read more here.