Food Noise - Born this way or Environmental?

I’ve had the urge as far back as I can recall, even as a child, and figured it was normal for everyone. As weight crept up in adulthood I still saw it as my own shortcoming for not handling it better. There wasn’t counseling or groups available locally, and I’d never discussed it with anyone or even heard the phrase food noise until a few hours after my first 2.5 mg shot, when the urge vanished completely. That led me to research how the medication works, and I now believe some people are simply born with it. I expect it would return if I stopped, so I plan to continue indefinitely.

I see it as something present from birth, though surroundings can strongly activate it. My home growing up was full of the same constant thoughts, and like others I assumed everyone operated that way, yet I lacked the discipline to manage those thoughts.

In my view it developed as an addiction to carbs across six decades, so more tied to surroundings. I’m working to ease it by cutting back gradually.

We shared the same home, age, and eating patterns growing up, yet I was always far hungrier than my brother. He ended up taller, naturally very lean, and I’ve carried about twenty extra pounds since around age ten. He never reached for snacks the way I did. Nothing else differed except my later focus on nutrition once I disliked being heavier, and I’ve always exercised more. Genetics play out strangely. The medication lets me eat the way I always wished, free from intense cravings.

My father and both grandfathers stayed tall, thin, and lean until dying in their early nineties. I matched that description until about age forty-five, when weight increased. For me the cause seems environmental. Highly processed foods appear to disrupt metabolism, and once weight rises and signals shift there’s a lasting change. The noise forms part of that shift, since a single shot removes it even though it only appeared after I gained weight. I expect to stay on a GLP-1 regardless, though I hope the noise might fade eventually. My high-school class had almost no heavier kids, suggesting those few were born with it while the rest needed an external trigger.

I view it as stemming from sugar and glucose exposure, therefore environmental, yet many of us received elevated glucose before birth. I weighed over ten pounds at term, and the same pattern holds for my siblings. My mother’s sustained high glucose during pregnancy likely created a sugar dependency in me, comparable to an infant born to an opioid user. Early formula loaded with corn syrup probably affected many others the same way.

It appears to involve several factors together, with genetics, surroundings, and food quality all contributing. Throughout most of human history obtaining food demanded significant effort, so the constant drive would have aided survival. Now that food sits everywhere with little work required, that same drive works against us. Some individuals seem more prone than others, but the current setting likely amplifies it for many.

I stayed at a normal weight through early childhood. After we relocated and my father regularly brought home junk food during a difficult period, I gained weight and became a heavier kid. The pattern seems more environmental because certain countries show far less of this issue. We lack outlets for movement like walking or biking and have few appealing healthy options, only quick-service items.

For me it traces to surroundings, though genetics probably played a role too. My parents grew up poor on farms during the Depression era and raised a large family where meals turned into a race to finish first and claim any extra servings. I never understood movie scenes where people sit with food in front of them and talk instead of eating right away. Only after the medication quieted everything did that behavior make sense.

I’ve wondered if it resembles a dog that’s highly motivated by food, always going after leftovers or begging. Taking a weekly shot removes all of that. Dogs might be shaped by both their breeding and their home setting. For me it’s probably a bit of each. When my wife gained weight during pregnancy I gained along with her.

Numerous additives in food are designed to create dependency. Many eating patterns form over time from poor choices. Food itself can produce physical addiction, and with consistent effort that can be reversed.

I can recall a time before the noise existed, when I was still a slim child. Later I remember being fully driven by it without recognizing what was happening.

I see it as a mix of both. Three years ago I spent four months eating cleanly under an 80/20 approach yet still faced strong sweet cravings that I tried to manage with homemade treats and fruit. The noise eventually overpowered that effort. Aggressive marketing with misleading claims makes it harder, such as labeling fast-food items as good protein sources.