India, Sept. 1 -- you have just finished two dosas for breakfast, yet your mind is already asking what is for lunch or whether there is something sweet in the kitchen. You are not necessarily physically hungry, but the thought keeps returning. Researchers increasingly describe persistent, unwanted or distressing thoughts about food as "food noise". Unlike ordinary hunger, food noise can feel like a mental loop about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, or whether to eat at all.

It may look like planning your next snack while still eating a meal, repeatedly opening a food-delivery app when you're not hungry, struggling to concentrate because a craving keeps returning, or spending large parts of the day negotiating with yourself abou...