By Jasmine Duarte, Pharmacy Resident and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist

To cheer or holler loudly and enthusiastically is the dictionary’s definition for the slang phrase, make some noise. When I hear the term “make some noise,” I think of Cleveland Guardian games or The Ohio State University Buckeye football games when the opposing team is attempting to complete a third down play.  

The Ohio Stadium on OSU’s Woody Hayes Drive can manage loud decibels of sound. Big Ten stadiums have some of the highest records for noise including Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, Penn State’s Beaver Stadium and Washington’s Husky Stadium. The Husky Stadium has recorded the loudest at 133.6 decibels. 

I understand this ear shattering noise, but what does it mean to have food noise?

Food noise is described as persistent or heightened food cues, which leads to intrusive food-related thoughts. These thoughts then drive individuals to change eating behavior and often consume higher amounts of food. A more basic definition of food noise is when someone is constantly thinking about food to the point where their lives revolve around food. 

The food marketing industry uses powerful food cues such as delicious looking food images, appetizing sounds such as the soda commercials using the sound of fizz or bubbles to attract attention or even the crunch of a chip or cookie. The companies typically use these methods to boost the sales of calorie-dense, but nutrient-poor foods. If you think about it, how many commercials focus on fruits and vegetables compared to candy bars, cookies, chips, fast food or energy drinks. 

We are surrounded by food cues!

Food cues can be internal or external. Internal food cues can be your stomach growling, low energy, headaches, lightheadedness or emotional triggers such as stress or boredom.  External food cues can include the smell of food, the sight of food and food images on TV commercials or programs. Another common external food cue is the presence of food in the room such as parties, tailgates, meetings or stores.  

Reacting to food noise and consuming more calories does have health implications including heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Food noise may be responsible for why we fail at diets or controlling daily intake of food.  Food noise is a call to action to overeat and social media posts are focusing on it. 

Social media including Tik Tok venues have exploded with posts about food noise.  A study presented at the European Congress on Obesity held in May of 2025 in Spain evaluated 100 Tik Tok videos on food noise. The data revealed 91.9% of the posts were from women with 82.5% being older than 30 years of age.  Only 22.2% of the posts were from healthcare professionals. In the analysis only 54.5% were intended to educate or inform.  

Of the videos 70.7% provided patient testimonies on food noise and their solutions. Medication management of food noise was discussed in 49.5% of the materials with most referring to the GLP-1 medications such as semaglutide (Ozempic®, Wegovy®) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound®).

There is very little research on the use of medications to manage food noise. Despite the success of GLP-1 medications to help reduce obesity, the research has not specifically looked at their impact on food noise. Some of this could ultimately explain why some individuals have better results with GLP-1 medications versus other drugs for obesity.  More research needs to be done to answer this question versus social media testimonies. 

If food noise is hollering loudly at you, consult your healthcare professional including dieticians to find solutions!

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