ABSTRACT
The specter of children addicted to processed foods is disturbing, but a variety of research points to its possibility. Helping children gain control of eating is not easy because the processed food industry targets the youngest markets. This chapter suggests issues related to the need for protocols to teach caregivers help addicted children. The suggestions and issues described in the chapter are bridged from evidence to observations of the difficulties that parents face when working to help their children recover from processed food addiction. In the case of food allergies or other special diets, the child retains reasoning and learning capabilities. Food-addicted children may have lost these capabilities, as chronic overconsumption of processed foods has been associated with loss of cognitive abilities. Child care arrangements, school, playdates, parties, family events, and faith organizations are examples where cues for processed foods have been found to be rife and the value of a reinforcing context.
