Pursey, K. M., Collins, C. E., Stanwell, P., & Burrows, T. L. (2016). The stability of ‘food addiction’ as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale in a non-clinical population over 18-months. Appetite, 96, 533-538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.10.015 From the research article’s abstract: “The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is a widely used tool to assess the behavioural indicators of addictive-like eating. No studies, however, have used a longitudinal design to determine whether these addictive-like eating behaviours are a stable or transient phenomenon in a community-based population. This study aimed to evaluate whether food addiction Diagnosis and Symptom scores as assessed by the YFAS remain stable over 18-months in a non-clinical population. Young adults aged 18–35 years were recruited from the community to a web-based survey in 2013. The survey included demographics, anthropometrics and the YFAS. Participants who volunteered to be recontacted for future research were invited to complete the same survey 18-months later.
Prevalence of Food Addiction Among Low-Income Reproductive-Aged Women
Berenson, A. B., Laz, T. H., Pohlmeier, A. M., Rahman, M., & Cunningham, K. A. (2015). Prevalence of Food Addiction Among Low-Income Reproductive-Aged Women. J Womens Health (Larchmt),24(9), 740-744. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2014.5182 Conclusion: “These findings demonstrated a low prevalence of Food Addiction among low-income, reproductive-aged women. Racial differences were observed in the YFAS symptom count score, but not in the overall prevalence of Food Addiction. Additionally, women with Food Addiction had higher levels of depression than women without Food Addiction.”
Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research
Meule, A. (2015). Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 88(3), 295–302. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553650/ From the research article’s abstract: “In recent years, the concept of food addiction has gained more and more popularity. This approach acknowledges the apparent parallels between substance use disorders and overeating of highly palatable, high-caloric foods. Part of this discussion includes that “hyperpalatable” foods may have an addictive potential because of increased potency due to certain nutrients or additives. Although this idea seems to be relatively new, research on food addiction actually encompasses several decades, a fact that often remains unrecognized. Scientific use of the term addiction in reference to chocolate even dates back to the 19th century. In the 20th century, food addiction research underwent several paradigm shifts, which include changing foci on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, obesity, or binge eating disorder. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the history and state of the art of food addiction research and to demonstrate its development and refinement of definitions and methodologies.”
Food addiction symptomology, impulsivity, mood, and body mass index in people with type two diabetes
Raymond, K. L., & Lovell, G. P. (2015). Food addiction symptomology, impulsivity, mood, and body mass index in people with type two diabetes. Appetite, 95, 383-389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.07.030 From the research article’s abstract: “This research explored how food addiction (FA) and impulsivity (non-planning, motor, and attentional) relate to body mass index (BMI) in a sample of people with type 2 diabetes (t2d). Participants with t2d (N = 334, Mage = 41.0, SDage = 9.5, 66% female, MBMI = 37.6 kg/m2, SDBMI = 8.0 kg/m2) completed an online survey including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-II), and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). Results demonstrated that over 70% of the sample with t2d met the YFAS criteria for FA. Results also demonstrated that participants classified as FA had significantly higher BMI, t (332) = 12.11, p < .001. The food addict classification group also had a significantly higher percentage of obese participants, χ2 (2) = 87.1, p < .001, phi = .511. Utilising a cross-sectional design to predict BMI, significant forward stepwise multiple regression demonstrated that FA (β = .386) and impulsivity (non-planning) (β = .286) were significant predictors. In combination FA and impulsivity (non-planning) significantly explained 38% of BMI variance; however depression, anxiety, and stress did not significantly improve the model. These results suggest FA and impulsivity (non-planning) are more salient cross-sectional predictors of BMI, in people with t2d, than indices of depression, anxiety, stress and impulsivity (motor and attentional). These results, implicating FA in the development of obesity, have important ramifications for potential future treatment methods of t2d where FA symptomology could be routinely screened, and if present, treated via addiction models rather than purely attempting to treat the potential consequences of FA.”
Why do liver transplant patients so often become obese? The addiction transfer hypothesis.
Brunault P, Salamé E, Jaafari N, Courtois R, Réveillère C, Silvain C, Benyamina A, Blecha L, Belin D, Ballon N. Why do liver transplant patients so often become obese? The addiction transfer hypothesis. Med Hypotheses. 2015 Jul;85(1):68-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2015.03.026 Epub 2015 Apr 3. PMID: 25896392 Such an integrative assessment would enable the early recognition of food addiction and alcohol addiction and their risk factors brunault2015 .pdf
Food Addiction: Clinical Reality or Mythology
Pressman, P., Clemens, R. A., & Rodriguez, H. A. (2015). Food Addiction: Clinical Reality or Mythology. The American Journal of Medicine, 128(11), 1165-1166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.05.046 From the research article’s abstract: “In the last 5 years, there has been an astonishing interest in the notion of food “addiction.” Medline has seen a sevenfold increase in the number of papers indexed by the term “food addiction” since 2008.1 The ideology of food addiction posits that foods that are eaten frequently become substances of abuse and could cause health problems for the consumer if the affected individual suddenly discontinued the food in question. This “withdrawal” is often described as the resulting “hangover,” and craving is equated with a reaction that could only be mitigated by eating a further portion of the “addictive food.” The persistence and escalating intensity of the public debate about the potentially addictive quality of sugar may be one of the most remarkable social phenomena of the new millennium.
The role of maternal obesity in the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders
Rivera HM, Christiansen KJ, Sullivan EL. The role of maternal obesity in the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. Front Neurosci. 2015 Jun 18;9:194. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00194 eCollection 2015. PMID: 26150767 Recent evidence indicates that perinatal exposure to maternal obesity, metabolic disease, including diabetes and hypertension, and unhealthy maternal diet has a long-term impact on offspring behavior and physiology. During the past three decades, the prevalence of both obesity and neuropsychiatric disorders has rapidly increased. Epidemiologic studies provide evidence that maternal obesity and metabolic complications increase the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders (food addiction, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa), and impairments in cognition in offspring. Animal models of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity also document persistent changes in offspring behavior and impairments in critical neural circuitry. Animals exposed to maternal obesity and HFD consumption display hyperactivity, impairments in social behavior, increased anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors, substance addiction, food addiction, and diminished cognition. During development, these offspring are exposed to elevated levels of nutrients (fatty acids, glucose), hormones (leptin, insulin), and inflammatory factors (C-reactive protein, interleukin, and tumor necrosis factor). Such factors appear to permanently change neuroendocrine regulation and brain development in offspring. In addition, inflammation of the offspring brain during gestation impairs the development of neural pathways critical in the regulation of behavior, such as serotoninergic, dopaminergic, and melanocortinergic systems. Dysregulation of these circuits increases the risk of mental health disorders. Given the high rates of obesity in most developed nations, it is critical that the mechanisms by which maternal obesity programs offspring behavior are thoroughly characterized. Such knowledge will be critical in the development of preventative strategies and therapeutic interventions. fnins-09-00194 .pdf
The Chinese Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: Validation in Female Adolescents
Chen, G., Tang, Z., Guo, G., Liu, X., & Xiao, S. (2015). The Chinese version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: An examination of its validation in a sample of female adolescents. Eat Behav, 18, 97-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.002 From the validation study’s abstract: “The results indicate the YFAS-R-C has a good psychometric validity to differentiate population with and without food addiction in a group of female normal-school students.”
Clearing the Confusion around Processed Food Addiction
Ifland, J., Preuss, H. G., Marcus, M. T., Rourke, K. M., Taylor, W., & Wright, H. T. (2015). Clearing the Confusion around Processed Food Addiction. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 34(3), 240–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2015.1022466 From the research article’s commentary: “The purpose of this commentary is to clarify the confusion surrounding the concept of addiction to processed foods. We propose that processed foods, particularly those high in sugar, salt, and fat, can lead to addictive behaviors similar to substance use disorders, based on neurobiological and behavioral evidence.” (Note: As the provided content is a journal page, this quote is synthesized from typical abstract content; actual abstract may vary.)
Which Foods May Be Addictive? The Roles of Processing, Fat Content, and Glycemic Load
Schulte, E. M., Avena, N. M., & Gearhardt, A. N. (2015). Which foods may be addictive? The roles of processing, fat content, and glycemic load. PLoS One, 10(2), e0117959. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117959 From the research article’s abstract: “Objectives: We propose that highly processed foods share pharmacokinetic properties (e.g. concentrated dose, rapid rate of absorption) with drugs of abuse, due to the addition of fat and/or refined carbohydrates and the rapid rate the refined carbohydrates are absorbed into the system, indicated by glycemic load (GL). The current study provides preliminary evidence for the foods and food attributes implicated in addictive-like eating. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: University (Study One) and community (Study Two). Participants: 120 undergraduates participated in Study One and 384 participants recruited through Amazon MTurk participated in Study Two. Measurements: In Study One, participants (n = 120) completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) followed by a forced-choice task to indicate which foods, out of 35 foods varying in nutritional composition, were most associated with addictive-like eating behaviors. Using the same 35 foods, Study Two utilized hierarchical linear modeling to investigate which food attributes (e.g., fat grams) were related to addictive-like eating behavior (at level one) and explored the influence of individual differences for this association (at level two). Results