“Imagine you have a pie chart—think about what percentage of the day is spent thinking about food,” says Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and author of Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food. “For those with a lot of food noise, 80 to 90 percent of their day is spent thinking about food.”
For those with intrusive food noise, “it might impact their sleep, or lead to guilt or shame around eating or anxious thoughts,” says Goldman. “It can get in the way of someone being able to function at their best.”
By contrast, those with mild food noise may barely notice it, as if it were simply a quiet buzz in the background.
Who’s susceptible to food noise and why
Anyone can experience food noise but people with obesity or overweight often struggle with food noise more than other people do, which can make it difficult to lose weight.
“If you’re having an excessive level of food noise, you’re more likely to do something about it and that’s to eat,” says Cheskin.
In fact, research in the journal Obesity Reviews found that heightened reactivity to food cues often induces cravings and influences eating behavior, contributing to weight gain. Furthermore, a 2024 report from Weight Watchers and STOP Obesity Alliance found that “more than half of people living with overweight or obesity experience food noise”—which many say makes it more difficult to stick to a healthy eating plan or exercise regimen.
Other people who may be especially susceptible include those with an eating disorder or disordered eating pattern. “If you’re restricting your eating or skipping meals, you’re likely to have more food noise—your body is giving you signals to eat more,” Goldman explains.
(Your detox might do more harm than good to your body.)
Also, if you have a lot of food rules or you’ve been dieting off and on for years, you may be more likely to experience food noise. And a study in a 2024 issue of the journal Appetite found that food noise is prevalent among people with orthorexia nervosa—a condition characterized by an obsessive focus on healthy eating, inflexible dietary rules, and persistent preoccupations with food purity.
“There’s a lot of shame and judgment around food noise,” Albers says. “It can impact relationships, leading to social withdrawal, and reduce people’s engagement in other areas of their life.”
