Study Explores Why Some People Think About Food Constantly
Frequent experiences of “food noise” were associated with poorer self-rated diet quality and mental health in a study of 1,000 US adults published in Obesity Science & Practice.
Food noise is an increasingly used term describing persistent or intrusive thoughts about food. However, it is not yet a scientifically established or clearly defined condition. Researchers examined how often people identified with the experience and which factors were associated with it.
About 18% of participants reported experiencing food noise often or always, while around 51% experienced it at least sometimes. Women were more likely to report frequent food noise than men, at 22.7% versus 12.7%. Younger adults also reported it more frequently than older participants.
The strongest independent association was loss of control over eating, which was linked to nearly six times higher odds of more frequent food noise. Other associated factors included current use of GLP-1 medicines, recent attempts to lose weight, eating less to change body weight or shape and placing greater importance on social support for dietary changes.
Current GLP-1 users were more likely to report frequent food noise than non-users. However, this finding differs from previous reports suggesting that GLP-1 medicines may reduce food-related thoughts. Researchers said this could reflect selection effects, because people using these medicines may already have greater sensitivity to food cues. Long-term studies are needed to clarify the relationship.
Frequent food noise was also associated with poorer self-rated mental health. Researchers suggested that the experience may overlap with established concepts such as food cravings, food preoccupation and loss of control over eating.
The study was cross-sectional and used a single question to identify food noise, so it cannot establish cause and effect. Researchers said further studies are needed to define food noise, develop reliable measurement tools and determine its clinical significance.
REFERENCE: Hayashi, D., & Masterson, T. D. (2026). Prevalence and Correlates of Perceived Food Noise Among U.S. Adults in a Nationally Representative Sample. Obesity Science & Practice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.70201.
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