Obesity and Food Addiction
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Statistics show that obesity has increased dramatically since the mid 1970’s to today. According to the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 over 64% of American adults ages 20-74
were overweight or obese.
Obesity has long been blamed on laziness, weak willpower, overeating, genetics, gland problems, lack of
exercise, additives in fast food, and so on. One thing that hasn’t been looked at, as far as I know, is the
effect that the CIO methods have on a person when it comes to obesity.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that one of the biggest shifts that occurs within a traumatized
infant is that from existing in a nurturing environment where the child can gradually be taught to look
inside themselves for happiness and comfort (or to find positive ways to help themselves feel better when
they’re down or experience an upset) to that of being obsessed with finding an external source of comfort
regardless of the cost.
As the infant grows, their mind can become consumed with one question that everything (and I do mean
everything) is filtered through and that question is, “What can I do to make myself feel better?”
Along with the fact that the child has been and may continue to be traumatized, there are a number of
beliefs that cause the child to continually seek the answer to that question.
Some of these beliefs are (to name a few):
• I can’t count on my family for support and comfort so I have to find it myself;
• I need comfort (but not knowing why), I’ll never find comfort; or
• I have to feel better.
It’s important to understand that any of the beliefs caused by trauma will be enough to shift an infant from
a balanced and healthy emotional state to an emotional state that’s obsessed with finding comfort.
At some point in time the traumatized child will learn that food brings pleasure. It is a medically proven fact
that eating causes the body to release certain natural chemicals which cause the sensation of pleasure.
For the healthy child, the pleasure that’s caused by food is a natural thing that just becomes a part of life.
But for the traumatized child, even this little bit of natural pleasure will be zeroed in on as a possibility for
comfort. Once the child makes the connection between food and pleasure, they can become unknowingly
obsessed with food. This can lead to over eating and eating the wrong foods because it’s pleasurable.
Food will become a drug of choice for the child eventually as he or she grows older into adolescence and
adulthood because they’ve shifted as an infant to looking for external ways to comfort themselves and
regulate their emotions. Any time the person is upset or just needs a pick me up, they will eat their favorite
foods to achieve this. When this happens, the person has become dependant on food as if it was a drug
or alcohol and can lead to food addiction. This dependency can start very early in life.
It is important for someone who is dependent on food to find effective tools with which to not only manage
their beliefs but their emotions as well. Eventually a non-traumatic way will need to be utilized in order to
deal with the pain from infant trauma. Of course, dependency isn’t always the final result and many times
it isn’t, but a person who has made the shift as an infant toward seeking to comfort themselves can still
use food to achieve this and become obese as a result.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 over 64% of American adults ages 20-74
were overweight or obese.
Obesity has long been blamed on laziness, weak willpower, overeating, genetics, gland problems, lack of
exercise, additives in fast food, and so on. One thing that hasn’t been looked at, as far as I know, is the
effect that the CIO methods have on a person when it comes to obesity.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that one of the biggest shifts that occurs within a traumatized
infant is that from existing in a nurturing environment where the child can gradually be taught to look
inside themselves for happiness and comfort (or to find positive ways to help themselves feel better when
they’re down or experience an upset) to that of being obsessed with finding an external source of comfort
regardless of the cost.
As the infant grows, their mind can become consumed with one question that everything (and I do mean
everything) is filtered through and that question is, “What can I do to make myself feel better?”
Along with the fact that the child has been and may continue to be traumatized, there are a number of
beliefs that cause the child to continually seek the answer to that question.
Some of these beliefs are (to name a few):
• I can’t count on my family for support and comfort so I have to find it myself;
• I need comfort (but not knowing why), I’ll never find comfort; or
• I have to feel better.
It’s important to understand that any of the beliefs caused by trauma will be enough to shift an infant from
a balanced and healthy emotional state to an emotional state that’s obsessed with finding comfort.
At some point in time the traumatized child will learn that food brings pleasure. It is a medically proven fact
that eating causes the body to release certain natural chemicals which cause the sensation of pleasure.
For the healthy child, the pleasure that’s caused by food is a natural thing that just becomes a part of life.
But for the traumatized child, even this little bit of natural pleasure will be zeroed in on as a possibility for
comfort. Once the child makes the connection between food and pleasure, they can become unknowingly
obsessed with food. This can lead to over eating and eating the wrong foods because it’s pleasurable.
Food will become a drug of choice for the child eventually as he or she grows older into adolescence and
adulthood because they’ve shifted as an infant to looking for external ways to comfort themselves and
regulate their emotions. Any time the person is upset or just needs a pick me up, they will eat their favorite
foods to achieve this. When this happens, the person has become dependant on food as if it was a drug
or alcohol and can lead to food addiction. This dependency can start very early in life.
It is important for someone who is dependent on food to find effective tools with which to not only manage
their beliefs but their emotions as well. Eventually a non-traumatic way will need to be utilized in order to
deal with the pain from infant trauma. Of course, dependency isn’t always the final result and many times
it isn’t, but a person who has made the shift as an infant toward seeking to comfort themselves can still
use food to achieve this and become obese as a result.
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