Food Is Always on Their Mind: Scientists Find Who Is More Likely to Experience “Food Noise”

Almost half of Americans experience thoughts about food taking up too much space in their minds at least occasionally. So-called “food noise” is often described as persistent or intrusive thoughts about food. A new study has found that frequent experiences of food noise are associated with a lower self-rated quality of diet and poorer self-rated mental health.

At the same time, the term itself does not yet have a universally accepted scientific definition. It became widely used in 2023, first on social media and later in conversations between doctors and patients. The term is also used in discussions about medications for obesity, particularly GLP-1 receptor agonists, although scientists have not yet established exactly what should be considered “food noise” or how it can be objectively measured.

The study, published in the journal Obesity Science & Practice, was based on a secondary analysis of data from an online survey conducted in the United States by the Society of Behavioral Medicine in May 2026. The survey included 1,000 adults.

Participants were not asked to measure the intensity of “food noise” using a specific scale. Instead, they were asked a single question about how often they believed they experienced the condition. About 18% said they experienced it often or constantly, while 17% said they never did. Overall, 50.89% of participants reported experiencing “food noise” at least occasionally.

Women reported experiencing it more often than men: 22.7% of women said they experienced frequent or constant “food noise,” compared with 12.7% of men. Among people under 30, the figure was 26.5%, compared with 13.5% among participants aged 60 and older.

The strongest factor associated with frequent “food noise” was loss of control over eating. People who reported such experiences were nearly six times more likely to frequently experience “food noise.” It was also associated with attempts to lose weight during the previous year and deliberately restricting food intake to change body weight or shape.

Researchers also found an unexpected association with GLP-1 medications. Among people currently taking these drugs, 25.76% reported frequent or constant “food noise,” compared with 16.3% of those who had never taken them. After accounting for other factors, current use of the medications remained associated with more frequent “food noise.”