Abstract:
Obesity, food addiction, and eating disorders are often approached as problems of behaviour, compliance, and personal responsibility. But what if part of the system designed to treat them is quietly reinforcing them? This talk challenges the prevailing narrative that patients simply need more knowledge, more discipline, or better adherence. Drawing on real-world behavioural work with high-functioning individuals, this session explores the intersection of physiology, psychology, and identity and how these layers interact to drive patterns of overeating, restriction, and relapse.
It will examine how:
- Ultra-processed foods are engineered to override biological regulation, increasing drive, cravings, and loss of control
- Socioeconomic factors shape exposure, access, and vulnerability with lower-income populations disproportionately affected
- Clinical language and messaging, often unintentionally, reinforce shame, inadequacy, and a sense of “not being enough”
- These internalised beliefs strengthen the very coping behaviours patients are trying to stop - including emotional eating, bingeing, and reliance on food for regulation
Critically, the talk will introduce an identity-driven model of behaviour change, demonstrating why sustainable change does not come from targeting the habit alone, but from understanding the role that behaviour plays in how a person thinks, feels, and functions under pressure.
