The dramatic increase in the availability of processed foods has substantially changed the contemporary food environment. Simultaneously, the nutrient density and quality of these foods have declined, contributing to the exponential increase in the prevalence of obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases. Consequently, the populace percentages of diabetes have surged in tandem with this rise in obesity rates. Despite prolific research into obesity and type 2 diabetes (t2d), current treatment has been unable to stem the upsurge of this epidemic. Food addiction (FA) is a contemporary concept challenging traditional methods in the treatment of obesity and related medical complications. Simply directing a person predisposed to FA to lose weight in order to decrease their diabetes symptomology is unlikely to be effective for everyone, which may also explain why current treatment modalities have had limited effect.
Description
Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2018.