# food noise

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/food-noise
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A mental preoccupation with food that is differentiable from hunger and from cravings but tends to urge people to overeat.

## Examples

- I try to ignore the food noise when I am bored.
- She finds that constant food noise makes it difficult to focus on her work during the afternoon.
- Despite having eaten a full meal, he struggled to quiet the persistent food noise that urged him to seek out another snack.

## Origin

Attested since 2007, the term relies upon a metaphor in which mental preoccupation is rendered as a persistent internal clamour. The condition is framed as a noise inside the head that cannot be silenced, possessing a quality not unlike that of an earworm. The expression entered wider usage in the early 2020s, coinciding with a shift in the application of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications. As the indications for this class of drugs expanded from the treatment of diabetes to general weight control, the term became a standard descriptor for the intrusive thoughts such treatments were reported to suppress. It was not in widespread use before this pharmaceutical expansion.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.