Watching the heartbreaking footage of the tsunami that devastated entire towns in Japan, I was struck by an interview with a foreigner living some distance from the disaster. Though he wasn’t in immediate danger, he had lost power and transportation. His primary concern? Food. The first thing he said was, “We don’t have any food.”

This made me realize how deeply ingrained the belief is that going without food for even a short time is a serious threat. In reality, this isn’t true. I have a friend who always carries snacks, even for a quick two-hour outing. And I once read a novel where a character was trapped for three days and supposedly emerged looking skeletal—an exaggeration, to say the least.

If we really wasted away so quickly, extreme weight loss programs wouldn’t be necessary. Just a few days without food, and half the body weight would vanish—clearly not how the human body works. While water is essential for survival within days, the body is well-adapted to withstand periods without food, sometimes for weeks or even months, depending on circumstances. Fat reserves exist for a reason. When food is scarce, metabolism slows down to conserve energy—similar to how bears hibernate.

The Impact of Food Anxiety

So what happens when someone believes they must eat constantly to survive? For one, it could contribute to obesity. It might also lead to an obsession with food, making it a higher priority than other activities. Some may even develop anxiety over job security and finances, driven by the subconscious fear of not having access to their next meal.

Yet, in contrast, most people don’t spend their days worrying about their next sip of water or their next breath—despite the fact that both are far more immediately vital than food. We take them for granted until they become unavailable.

The Power of Beliefs

This raises an important question: What other untested beliefs shape our lives? For example, people with agoraphobia may believe that stepping outside their home will result in unbearable panic or disaster. These fears can feel completely real, even if they are not based on reality.

Our survival instincts are powerful, but sometimes, what we think we need is simply what we’ve been conditioned to believe.