Is It Really Food Noise? Or Is It Hunger We’ve Been Taught to Distrust?
There’s a growing buzz around “food noise” - a phrase now commonly used to describe constant thoughts about food, cravings, or preoccupations with eating. In many of the narratives emerging from weight loss circles - particularly those surrounding appetite-suppressing medications - food noise is framed as the enemy: disruptive, unwelcome, and something to be silenced.
But what if the noise we’re trying to suppress is simply the body giving a clever signal about its need for nourishment? What if it’s the body speaking clearly and persistently, and we’ve simply lost the ability, or the permission, to listen?
In this blog, I take a closer look at the concept of food noise and explore how it’s related to hunger, malnourishment and food restriction.
The Rise of 'Food Noise' as a Problem to Medicate
The term “food noise” is gaining traction particularly in the context of GLP-1 receptor agonists - medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. For many people, these drugs appear to offer not just appetite suppression, but relief from the mental chatter around food that can feel relentless. It’s easy to understand the appeal. Living in a state of constant internal negotiation ‘Should I eat that? Have I had too much? Why can’t I stop thinking about food?’ - is exhausting.
For people living with eating disorders, this inner noise can become more than exhausting - it can feel like an all-consuming mental loop that dominates the day. More than just chatter, it can be intolerably loud and a sign of profound distress for some people - an urgent signal from a body and brain in survival mode.
Food noise is real, but here's the problem - in a culture that has effectively pathologised hunger and glorified restraint, some people have come to interpret natural body cues as problems to eliminate rather than to learn from. What if what some people call food noise is simply their body making an effort to be heard in a world that keeps telling it to ‘shut up’?
What Causes Food Noise?
It seems that food noise is not a singular phenomenon - there are many reasons we may experience frequent thoughts about food, including:
Actual physiological hunger: If you’re under-eating, skipping meals, avoiding whole food groups, or generally eating in a way that doesn't satisfy your energy needs, your body will keep trying to get your attention.
Mental restriction: Even if you’re physically eating enough, believing you “shouldn’t” eat a particular food or “should” eat less can create a psychological sense of deprivation - a well-documented driver of food preoccupation.
Emotional unmet needs: Sometimes thoughts about food are a stand-in for other needs such as rest, connection, stimulation, or comfort. In these cases, the “noise” is less about food and more about our inner world.
Sensory and environmental triggers: We live in a world saturated with food marketing, sensory stimulation, and cultural messaging around body image and health - all of which can increase awareness of, and fixation on, food.
Hunger SIGNALS ARE Not a Problem to Be Solved
Diet culture tends to teach people to see their hunger as something to control, suppress, or outsmart. It can relate responding to hunger to a lack of willpower, or can even make it feel shameful.
But hunger signals are not our enemy. They’re a vital bodily signal, just like thirst or tiredness, that help keep us alive.
The body doesn't work on moral terms like diet culture. It works on biology - so when it doesn't get what it needs, it turns up the volume. Malnourishing the body and overriding hunger may be primary drivers of food noise and more intense preoccupations with food, potentially fuelling binge cycles, and a deepening mistrust in our bodies.
When people temporarily silence their appetite and food noise through medications, but don’t take steps to ensure they’re receiving adequate and consistent nourishment, they may be at risk of malnourishment, including nutrient deficiencies and other health complications over time.
Do Some People Experience More Food Noise Than Others?
Yes, and this may be an important part of the conversation. While food noise is primarily influenced by malnourishment and food restriction, it also appears that some people may be biologically more predisposed to experience frequent or intense food thoughts. This shouldn’t be seen as a flaw or failure - it's part of natural human diversity.
Some key contributors include:
Genetic variation in appetite and satiety hormones: Differences in hormones like ghrelin (which stimulates hunger) and leptin (which signals fullness) can influence how often and how strongly we feel drawn to food.
Dopamine and reward pathways: Some individuals have a more responsive reward system, meaning food can trigger stronger anticipation or satisfaction responses, leading to more persistent thoughts.
Blood sugar fluctuations and metabolic factors: For people with conditions like insulin resistance or PCOS, appetite cues can be more pronounced and harder to regulate, which may lead to more food preoccupation, even when restriction isn’t present.
Neurobiological sensitivity: Some brains respond more intensely to food cues in the environment (like images, smells, or routines), increasing background food chatter.
Stress and trauma: A sensitised nervous system, particularly in those who’ve experienced trauma or chronic stress, can interpret food as a source of safety and regulation. This can make food thoughts louder, especially when emotions are high or needs feel unmet.
What If the Goal Isn't Quiet - But ATTUNEMENT?
Food noise is real - and I don’t underestimate how uncomfortably loud it can feel for some people. But what if, instead of trying to override it or mute it through medication, we got curious and began to recognise and respond to the message behind it?
Through my recent training in Eating Disorders, I’ve come to understand that when people who aren’t eating enough to meet their body’s needs - whether that’s due to overall restriction, avoidance of certain food groups, or nutrient deficiencies - begin to increase their intake and nourish themselves more consistently, food noise often reduces naturally.
In my practice, I combine nutritional interventions with an approach called Intuitive Eating, which offers something different for those looking to improve their relationship with food: rather than silencing the body, it invites us to attune to it.
Aims include helping people to restore regular eating patterns, reestablish trust with their bodies, learn to distinguish between different types of hunger (physical, emotional, sensory), and develop the capacity to respond to their needs without fear or guilt.
For people with eating disorders, I understand this process takes time, but with consistent nourishment and therapeutic support, the volume of food noise can begin to soften.
These approaches may not eliminate every food thought, but they can significantly reduce the obsessional quality- the frantic, all-consuming nature that so often arises from restriction, unmet needs, and internalised shame.
My ConclusionS
Appetite-suppressing weight-loss medications may offer temporary relief for those experiencing intense distress around food. But there may be potential risks associated with ‘medicalising’ hunger and promoting solutions that further disconnect us from our bodies, particularly when these meds find their way into the hands of people who already have restrictive patterns around food.
When we treat food thoughts as a symptom to be silenced, we can miss a vital opportunity for self-understanding. When we numb or override hunger, we may risk disconnecting from one of the body’s most important forms of communication.
What if food noise isn’t a problem to fix, but wisdom to be heard? What if the body isn’t broken - but simply in need of adequate, consistent nourishment.
Take a nourishing step forward today
Are worries about food, weight, or overeating draining your time, energy, and peace of mind? Are you struggling with low mood, persistent food cravings, poor gut health or digestive challenges?
Old mindsets and habits can be hard to shift on your own. If you are looking to find peace with food and your body, and eat with more confidence and ease, I can help you.
Please check out my private programmes here, or book an exploratory chat to find out more.
