Is ‘food noise’ ruining your diet and sabotaging your weight loss? Doctors reveal the key signs – and how to combat it
DO you check Uber Eats multiple times a day, or are you constantly obsessing about the next meal?
You could be experiencing something called "food noise”.
The term has become a buzzword on social media in recent years, with the hashtag #foodnoise having amassed an impressive 26.1 million views on TikTok.
Last month, Oprah Winfrey opened up about her experience with the condition and the weight loss medication she used to help fight it.
While food noise is a shiney new phrase, it is not a new concept.
The distressing phenomenon has been studied under other names, like food addiction and food cue reactivity, for years.
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Food cue reactivity, or food noise, refers to the "constant and persistent thoughts" about food, "to the point of feeling as if [subjects'] lives revolved around food," according to research published in the academic journal .
According to the researchers, it can lead to unhealthy eating patterns, including emotional eating.
“It could also contribute to overeating and therefore living with overweight and obesity and developing weight-related complications,” Dr Priya Jaisinghani, an obesity specialist from NYU Langone, US told .
What causes food noise?
It's thought excessive food noise is due to dodgy communication between the brain and gut.
Typically, this communication pathway helps our brains to recognise when the stomach is empty and when we need more food.
"We need these systems to survive,” Dr Marcio Griebeler from the Obesity Center at Cleveland Clinic’s Endocrinology and Metabolism Institute also told Health.
In most people, this little voice also tells the brain when you don't need more food.
But for people with food hunger, the brain does not receive the vital warning that the body is full. This means they don't know when they are full.
Although food noise can be linked to food addiction, experiencing increased food noise doesn’t necessarily mean that you have one.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, several factors may trigger this breakdown of communication, which may lead to food cravings, an element of food noise.
Some of these issues are temporary and can be fixed, while others are more long-term as they are caused by your genetic makeup.
These include:
- Feeling stressed
- Not getting enough sleep
- Having certain health conditions, such as metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Genetics
- Taking certain medications, such as antidepressants, birth control, antipsychotics, and beta-blockers, which are used to control blood pressure
How do you stop food noise?
If you think you’re experiencing a higher-than-normal amount of food noise, you should speak with your GP.
They can help you determine what is driving the feeling of incessant hunger or refer you to someone else who can.
Weight-loss medications that contain semaglutide - such as Ozempic or Wegovy - are known to silence food noise by increasing feelings of fullness.
But there are also several other medication-free ways to curb food noises, according to .
They are:
1. Work on stress and sleep
When you’re anxious, irritable, or not rested, you may think more about food because eating temporarily makes you feel better, Dr Steven Batash of Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center, US, told the website.
Find positive ways to manage stress and anxiety, such as deep breathing exercises, spending time with loved ones, or being physically active.
2. Eat more often
If you get too hungry or deprive yourself of food, that may spur food noise – and trigger overeating when you finally allow yourself to eat, he added.
To stay full, try and eat three to four times a day, and get enough protein and fibre.
3. Tweak your environment
You can’t control everything around you, so focus on what you can change.
"For instance, if ice cream is a food you’d like to limit, don’t put it front and centre in the freezer where you see it all the time," David Creel, a psychologist and dietitian at Cleveland Clinic, US, explained.
4. Look for patterns
Try and work out when the food noise is loudest.
If it's while watching TV shows on your laptop, you could try to ensure you are far away from the kitchen while tuning in.
“The goal is to break the habit so you don’t evoke the same hunger and desire to eat,” the psychologist said.
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5. Eat more mindfully
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But they started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
But despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.