Technically, addiction refers to a biological state in which two conditions must be met. First, greater amounts of the substance must be required over time to produce the same desired effect. Second, when the person decreases the amount of the substance consumed, substantial withdrawal symptoms occur.

Food doesn’t work this way. So technically, your child does not have a food addiction. However, your overweight child may well have a psychological dependence on food – a relationship with food that is quite unhealthy both physically and emotionally.

Has eating become your child’s comforting reliable friend? Is eating a “coping skill” to which your child resorts when faced with stress at home or at school? Has eating become your child’s source of primary interest and amusement? If you answered yes to these questions, then your child’s growth in many key areas of life may have become stymied as a result of an unhealthful psychological dependence on food.

We all seek comfort and joy from food, sometimes. That’s very normal and a wonderful part of being human. However, we’re also born to socialize, to enjoy the pleasures and challenges of friends and family. We also function best when we have strong interests in learning, growing, creating, and sometimes competing. If your child’s world has narrowed in focus to the simple pleasures of food, then he or she has a major problem.

In order for your child to reach his or her true social, intellectual, and physical potential, he or she must change from “living to eat” to “eating to live.” Food can still be an important and pleasurable part of life, just not the primary focus.

Here’s the good news: With the right kind of help, change and tremendous growth can happen. More healthful coping skills will evolve to replace the domination of food. Eating will become a happier experience, and other interests and people will re-emerge in exciting ways.