Anyone who tuned into Oprah Winfrey’s TV special, “Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution” last year likely walked away with one particular phrase reverberating in their head: “food noise.” The special, which focused on weight loss medications, covered the journeys of several people who have used these medications, including Winfrey. During the special and in subsequent interviews, Winfrey spoke about how using these medications “quiets the food noise,” enabling her to suppress her hunger cues enough to maintain a lower weight.

Since then, coverage of “food noise” has been all over the place—often used by drug manufacturers as a way to entice potential customers. But food noise is much more nuanced than these ads and Oprah’s documentary might imply, and it can be particularly complex for people with eating disorders. “My food noise was always on,” says Equip Lead Peer Mentor Makailah (Mak) Dowell. “It never turned off, even after meals and snacks. My food noise served as a bully to ensure I aligned with my eating disorder, not with myself.”

Dowell says that in her case, restricting food (which is essentially what weight loss medications help people do) only made the problem worse. “For some folks, when they step away from the food, the food noise becomes quieter,” she says. “For me, it would only turn up more. My eating disorder couldn’t and wouldn’t let go of me, and it knew that food noise was a large piece of me allowing it to stay.”

“Food noise” isn’t just a buzzy phrase invented to sell medications, and it’s not an indication that you “need” to lose weight or work on suppressing your hunger. Read on to understand the true definition of food noise, how to spot the signs of a problematic thought pattern around food, and how to get support when the noise gets too loud.

What is food noise?

Although there is no official medical definition for “food noise,” it’s largely considered something many people experience. “As a registered dietitian working with individuals experiencing disordered eating, I think about food noise as describing the persistent and unwanted thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about food and eating that take up excessive mental, physical and emotional space,” says Equip Dietitian Lead Tanya Hargrave-Klein MS, RDN. “This may include obsessive thoughts about food rules.”

One common example of these food rules is the idea that you shouldn’t eat between meals. When someone takes this type of rule to heart, Hargrave-Klein says it contributes to constant judgement they may feel toward their own eating habits. “This becomes part of food noise when a person ‘shoulds’ themself about never breaking this rule,” she says. “Then it becomes difficult to not have obsessive thoughts about eating snacks: ’What would I have?’ ‘What would it taste like?’ ‘When would I have it?’”

According to many of Hargrave-Klein’s patients, this type of relentless running dialogue can feel similar to a tape playing repeatedly in their heads. “They often feel like they’re being bombarded 24/7 by persistent thoughts about food and eating,” she says. “Some also report persistent exercise thoughts as well. Having persistent thoughts about food crowds out space for other thoughts, making them unable to be truly present in the moment and fully engage in other activities.”

For Dowell, food noise consisted of a continuous loop of thoughts like “you don’t deserve this meal,” “that’s too much food,” and “that food is too scary right now.” “I would describe it as the isolated events where the eating disorder, anxiety, or stress of a meal/snack/food is loud,” Dowell says. “When I say ‘loud,’ I don’t mean Beyonce in a Century Link Stadium loud. I mean, these persistent thoughts that will not stay out. These thoughts would continually show up in my mind to the point where I would step outside of my values and into my eating disorder.”

Is food noise a bad thing?

While many people experience some degree of food noise on occasion, the incessant drone of negative or self-punishing thoughts can be problematic—particularly if it’s the result of restriction. “People have thoughts about food throughout the day,” Hargrave-Klein says. “We think about which foods are available in our pantry, what foods taste good to us, and which foods would satisfy our hunger, to name a few examples. These recurring thoughts help us plan ahead so that we can nourish adequately. It’s when these thoughts become more frequent and persistent that they can be problematic and feel more like food noise than useful food thoughts.”

Dowell says that in her case, the thoughts about food were rooted in shame, guilt, and the morality of eating or choosing certain types of food. “My food noise would deem me worthy or not every single day,” she says. “Even with what I drank: ‘Soda or no soda?’ ‘Water or no water?’ It controlled me.”

According to Hargrave-Klein, there can be many negative repercussions associated with chronic, internal judgements about food. “If someone can’t turn down the volume of the food noise, it can become difficult to divert energy and attention to other things,” she says. “It may take much longer to complete tasks at work or school. They might be less interested in activities they used to enjoy, like social events or recreational activities. An individual's world often contracts as the food noise takes up more and more mental space.”

One classic and regularly referenced scientific study underscores Hargrave-Klein’s message. In November 1944, scientists began a year-long investigation into the psychological and physiological effects of hunger on 36 young men. Commonly referred to as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, the project required the men to lose 25 percent of their normal body weight through a calorie-restricted diet. The results were dramatic, with the participants exhibiting obsessive thoughts about food, irritability, slow and unusual eating behaviors, increased anxiety and depression, and much more. The starvation had essentially amplified the participants’ food noise to levels that inhibited their everyday functioning.

“If someone gets too hungry or restricts their intake of food (think: dieting), this may trigger food noise—and lead to out-of-control eating when they finally give themself permission to eat,” Hargrave-Klein says. “This can result in a vicious cycle of feeling hungry, which initiates the barrage of food noise, followed by out-of-control eating. This then repeats daily, leaving the individual with escalating feelings of guilt and shame.”

The relationship between food noise and eating disorders

While the participants in the study didn’t have eating disorders, the hunger-induced effects they experienced as a result of restriction mirror those experienced by people with eating disorders. In Hargrave-Klein’s clinical experience, patients with eating disorders often describe similar thought patterns as a result of food restriction.

“Some report not being able to stop thinking about what food looks like, smells like, or tastes like,” she says. “This is often a result of them restricting their dietary intake by eliminating foods or food groups (e.g. not eating carbs), not consuming enough energy (e.g. skipping meals) or eating foods that don’t satisfy (e.g. always eating chicken and rice). Others report overwhelming urges to view photos of food, scroll Pinterest for recipes, or report an inability to stop thinking about their next meal or snack. While individual experiences with food noise vary from person to person, it’s rare that food noise is not present with an eating disorder.”

When to be worried about food noise

Food noise isn’t an inherently bad thing—and in a lot of cases, it might just be a sign that you’re hungry. But sometimes, incessant thoughts about food can indicate that there might be a deeper underlying problem, like an eating disorder.

Here are some signs that might indicate your food noise is a cause for concern:

• Thoughts about food are negatively affecting your performance at school or work, or impacting your ability to complete daily responsibilities.
• You find yourself thinking about food when trying to engage in activities that used to make you happy, like reading, watching a show, or doing a hobby.
• You plan your meals and snacks far in advance, and repeatedly think about what you’re going to eat (even after you’ve already decided).
• You ruminate about food you’ve eaten.
• You spend an abnormal amount of time consuming food-related content, like looking at food-related posts on social media, reading recipes online or in cookbooks, or watching food shows.
• Thoughts about food feel more important than all or most other thoughts in your mind.

If more than one of the signs above sound familiar to you, you may be dealing with an eating disorder. We recommend talking to a trusted, eating disorder-informed professional about your concerns, or taking our free, 5-minute eating disorder assessment.

How to quiet food noise

Whether or not an eating disorder is the root cause, excessive food noise can have a negative impact on your life. Knowing that food noise is a common and predictable consequence of restriction, there are several strategies that can help quiet the intrusive thoughts:

• Prevent extreme hunger whenever possible. “Eat regularly throughout the day, which means eating a meal or snack every two to four hours during waking hours,” Hargrave-Klein says. “When the body doesn't receive what it needs, it turns on food noise to encourage you to eat. It is a pretty cool system designed to save you.”
• Make plans with others who can support you. “I would ensure that after school, I had plans to eat lunch at someone’s house or be around folks,” Dowell says. “By not isolating myself, I ensured a protective barrier from the eating disorder.”
• Include a variety of foods with your meals and snacks. “Rigid or repetitive eating can trigger food noise,” Hargrave-Klein says. “Adding variety and satisfying foods can turn down the volume of the food noise.”
• Challenge the negative or self-punishing thoughts. “Are the messages you hear accurate and truthful?” Hargrave-Klein asks. “Talk to a dietitian to debunk any misinformation wrapped up in the food noise. And consult with a mental health professional and learn skills to quiet food noise.”

To that last point, it’s critical to seek professional help to help combat food noise if the thoughts are negatively impacting everyday functioning or joy. “If food is dominating someone’s thoughts, or the noise is triggering unhealthy behaviors such as out-of-control eating or not eating enough, it would be advised for the individual to seek professional help,” Hargrave-Klein says.

Dowell also advises anyone struggling with intense food noise to seek support. “I remember when I thought I was going to live my life everyday like this,” she says. “Then my first therapist told me, ‘hey, did you know that it can be silenced?’ I cried. I didn’t know that I could even work my way to that form of peace and when it was offered to me..”

The Equip takeaway on food noise

The conversation around food noise today can be complicated. Here’s what to remember to, well, cut through the noise and find a healthy balance when it comes to thoughts about food.

• Food noise refers to obsessive, repeated thoughts about food. It can take the form of thinking about what you’re going to eat or just ate, focusing on food rules for yourself, spending lots of time consuming food-related content, obsessing over what others are eating, or any other persistent and repetitive thoughts about food.
• Food noise isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it can negatively impact your life when thoughts about food prevent you from engaging in other things that bring you joy or negatively impact your performance at school or work.
• Food noise doesn’t always signal an eating disorder, but almost all eating disorders have food noise as a symptom.
• You should be concerned about food noise if you find that it’s taking up a great deal of mental space, affecting your daily life, and taking precedence over other (more important) parts of your life.
• You can help to turn down the volume on food noise by making sure you eat an adequate amount for your body, eating with others who can support you, eating a variety of different foods, and challenging rigid food-related beliefs or rules you hold.
• If you’re concerned about how much time you spend thinking about food, talk to a professional. Even if an eating disorder isn’t the underlying cause, food noise can negatively impact your mental health and prevent you from living the free, meaningful life you deserve.