alt Hacker NewsWhile you're chemically addicted to a substance, yes, the body thinks you literally need it to survive. The point is what happens after you break the chemical addiction, you go through withdrawal, and can function again. The brain stops feeling you need it in that same way after this process. But it's almost impossible for someone who went through alchohol or nicotine or opioid withdrawal to ever consume that again and not relapse into addiction.
If the same logic applies to a "food addiction", then discontinuing the drug that helped you go over the initial addiction is going to be almost impossible, since you can't abstain from food.
Withdrawal can often be both a mental and chemical process. The desire to do something and constantly thinking about it can be just as much habit as it is chemical.
We are mostly on the same page I think. To the point though, re: food - it is not all equal. Fast food, ice cream, fried food, candy, chips- it is quite different from cooking your own meals and snacking on things like fruit, veggies and hummus (etc..)
Similar to your first point, I can't buy ice cream because I have no self control over it. (I would not say I have a food problem, it would therefore be a lot harder for others I believe)
While I agree "you can't abstain from food", it might be a bit overly reductive. Not all food is responsible for 'problem' eating. Similar to near absolutely (or absolutely) avoiding booze/nicotine, there might be similar foods that must be avoided. Which comes back to habits, changes to how a person snacks, when they eat, how long is spent in food prep,more grocery store trips, how they shop in the grocery store (etc)