Lennerz, B., & Lennerz, J. K. (2018). Food Addiction, High-Glycemic-lndex Carbohydrates, and Obesity. Clinical chemistry, 64(1), 64—71. https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2017.273532 “In summary, Food Addiction is — at least in some individuals — a plausible causal factor contributing to obesity. The concept of Food Addiction may reveal new avenues for intervention on an individual and public health levels, especially if specific triggers can be identified and mechanisms clarified. High-GI carbohydrates are a possible trigger that mediates neurochemical responses similar to addiction. As a neuro-psycho-biological entity, Food Addiction requires an evidence-based, multidisciplinary classification system to ultimately improve assessment and management.” lennerz2017food .pdf
Food and beverage consumption and food addiction among women in the Nurses’ Health Studies
Lemeshow, A. R., Rimm, E. B., Hasin, D. S., Gearhardt, A. N., Flint, A. J., Field, A. E., & Genkinger, J. M. (2018). Food and beverage consumption and food addiction among women in the Nurses’ Health Studies. Appetite, 121, 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.038 From the research article’s abstract: “Previous studies have not addressed a fundamental component of a food addiction disorder: the compulsive relationship between eating and potentially positively reinforcing foods. We aimed to evaluate the association between food consumption and food addiction. We conducted cross-sectional analyses merging data from the Nurses’ Health Study (n = 58,625) and Nurses’ Health Study II (n = 65,063), two prospective cohort studies of female nurses in the United States. Diet was assessed in 2006–2007 using a food frequency questionnaire, and food addiction was assessed in 2008–2009 using the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale. The prevalence of food addiction was 5.4%. The odds of food addiction were strongest among nurses consuming 5+ servings/week (compared with <1 serving/month) of hamburgers (multivariable odds ratio (MVOR) 4.08; 95% CI, 2.66–6.25), French fries (MVOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.59–3.51) and pizza (MVOR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.67–3.69).
Assessment of the relationship between food addiction and nutritional status in schizophrenic patients
Küçükerdönmez, Ö., Urhan, M., Altın, M., Hacıraifoğlu, Ö., & Yıldız, B. (2019). Assessment of the relationship between food addiction and nutritional status in schizophrenic patients. Nutritional Neuroscience, 22(6), 392–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2017.1392429 From the research article’s abstract: “Obesity is one of today’s most important public health problems. It is suggested that overeating and substance addiction show similarities, and addiction to food may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of food addiction among schizophrenic patients and to examine the relationship between food addiction and anthropometric measurements and dietary nutrient intake. Study participants included a total of 104 schizophrenic outpatients, 62 females and 42 males. Food addiction was assessed by using the Yale Food Addiction Scale, and the anthropometric measurements of participants and their three-day food consumption were recorded. This study found that more than half of the schizophrenic patients (60.6%) had food addiction, and that female schizophrenic patients had a higher prevalence (62.9%) of food addiction than male patients (57.1%).
Food addiction: Prevalence, psychopathological correlates and associations with quality of life in a large sample
Nunes-Neto, P. R., Köhler, C. A., Schuch, F. B., Solmi, M., Quevedo, J., Maes, M., Murru, A., Vieta, E., McIntyre, R. S., McElroy, S. L., Gearhardt, A. N., Stubbs, B., & Carvalho, A. F. (2018). Food addiction: Prevalence, psychopathological correlates and associations with quality of life in a large sample. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 96, 145–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.003 From the research article’s abstract: “Objective: To determine the prevalence of food addiction in a large Brazilian non-clinical sample. Sociodemographic and psychopathological correlates of food addiction as well as associations with quality (QoL) domains were also investigated. Methods: This cross-sectional study obtained data from a Brazilian anonymous web-based research platform (N = 7639; 71.3% females). Participants provided sociodemographic data and completed the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0, PHQ-9, hypomania checklist (HCL-32), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, AUDIT, modified Skin picking-Stanford questionnaire, Minnesota impulsive disorders interview, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised inventory (SCL-90R), early trauma inventory self report-short form, and the WHO Quality of Life instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-Bref). Associations were adjusted to potential confounders through multivariable models. Results:
A solution-focused approach to understanding patient motivation in diabetes self-management: Gender differences and implications for primary care
Bhaloo, T., Juma, M., & Criscuolo-Higgins, C. (2018). A solution-focused approach to understanding patient motivation in diabetes self-management: Gender differences and implications for primary care. Chronic Illn, 14(4), 243-255. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742395317736372 Excerpt: “Our findings suggest that physicians need to be mindful of possible gender differences and how gender plays a role in what patients need from them.”
An examination of the mechanisms and personality traits underlying food addiction among individuals with severe obesity awaiting bariatric surgery
Ouellette, A. S., Rodrigue, C., Lemieux, S., Tchernof, A., Biertho, L., & Bégin, C. (2017). An examination of the mechanisms and personality traits underlying food addiction among individuals with severe obesity awaiting bariatric surgery. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 22(4), 633-640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0440-7 From the research article’s abstract: “Purpose: The aetiology underlying addiction has often been investigated to shed more light on the factors contributing to the development and maintenance of various disorders. In the field of addictive eating behaviours, data on the aetiological factors related to food addiction (FA) in the bariatric context remain scarce. The present study aimed to explore mechanisms and variables underlying FA among individuals suffering from severe obesity and awaiting bariatric surgery. Methods: Participants (N = 146) were recruited at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute during their pre-operative visit and were invited to complete questionnaires. Participants with and without FA were compared on reward sensitivity, impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, and personality traits. Results: Findings showed that bariatric candidates with FA (16%) presented more emotion dysregulation, more harm avoidance, and less self-directedness.
Food addiction and substance addiction in women: Common clinical characteristics
Hardy, R., Fani, N., Jovanovic, T., & Michopoulos, V. (2018). Food addiction and substance addiction in women: Common clinical characteristics. Appetite, 120, 367–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.09.026 From the research article’s abstract: “Food addiction is characterized by poorly controlled intake of highly-palatable, calorically-dense, foods. While previous studies indicate that risk factors for food addiction are similar to substance use disorders (SUD), these studies have looked at food addiction and SUD in independent samples, limiting the ability to directly compare food addiction to SUD. The present study was conducted to assess rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression,
Food addiction and bariatric surgery: a systematic review of the literature
Ivezaj, V., Wiedemann, A. A., & Grilo, C. M. (2017). Food addiction and bariatric surgery: a systematic review of the literature. Obesity Reviews, 18(12), 1386–1397. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12600 From the research article’s summary: “Emerging research suggests that rates of food addiction are high among individuals seeking bariatric surgery, but little is known about associated features and the prognostic significance of pre-operative food addiction. Thus, this article provides a systematic review and synthesis of the literature on food addiction and bariatric surgery. Articles were identified through PubMed and SCOPUS databases, resulting in a total of 19 studies which assessed food addiction among pre-bariatric and/or post-bariatric surgery patients using the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Most studies were cross-sectional, and only two studies prospectively measured food addiction both pre-operatively and post-operatively. The presence of pre-surgical food addiction was not associated with pre-surgical weight or post-surgical weight outcomes, yet pre-surgical food addiction was related to broad levels of psychopathology.
Brain on Fire: Incentive Salience, Hedonic Hot Spots, Dopamine, Obesity, and Other Hunger Games
Cameron, J. D., Chaput, J. P., Sjödin, A. M., & Goldfield, G. S. (2017). Brain on Fire: Incentive Salience, Hedonic Hot Spots, Dopamine, Obesity, and Other Hunger Games. Annual Review of Nutrition, 37, 183-205. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064855 Conclusion “This review examines human feeding behavior in light of psychological motivational theory and highlights the importance of midbrain dopamine (DA). Prospective evidence of both reward surfeit and reward deficit pathways to increased body weight are evaluated, and we argue that it is more complex than an either/or scenario when examining DA’s role in reward sensitivity, eating, and obesity. The Taq1A genotype is a common thread that ties the contrasting models of DA reward and obesity; this genotype related to striatal DA is not associated with obesity class per se but may nevertheless confer an increased risk of weight gain. We also critically examine the concept of so-called food addiction, and despite growing evidence, we argue that there is currently insufficient human data to warrant this diagnostic label. The surgical and pharmacological treatments of obesity are discussed, and evidence is presented for the selective use of DA-class drugs in obesity treatment.”
Validation of the Italian version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (I-YFAS 2.0) in a sample of undergraduate students
Aloi, M., Rania, M., Rodriguez Munoz, R. C., Jimenez Murcia, S., Fernandez-Aranda, F., De Fazio, P., & Segura-Garcia, C. (2017). Validation of the Italian version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (I-YFAS 2.0) in a sample of undergraduate students. Eat Weight Disord, 22(3), 527-533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0421-x Conclusion: “The Italian version of the YFAS 2.0 has demonstrated in a sample of university students to be a useful tool to investigate Food Addictions.” Study link