Food Addiction in Gambling Disorder: Frequency and Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Background: The food addiction (FA) model is receiving increasing interest from the scientific community. Available empirical evidence suggests that this condition may play an important role in the development and course of physical and mental health conditions such as obesity, eating disorders, and other addictive behaviors. However, no epidemiological data exist on the comorbidity of FA and gambling disorder (GD), or on the phenotype for the co-occurrence of GD+FA.Objectives: To determine the frequency of the comorbid condition GD+FA, to assess whether this comorbidity features a unique clinical profile compared to GD without FA, and to generate predictive models for the presence of FA in a GD sample.Method: Data correspond to N = 458 treatment-seeking patients who met criteria for GD in a hospital unit specialized in behavioral addictions.Results: Point prevalence for FA diagnosis was 9.2%. A higher ratio of FA was found in women (30.5%) compared to men (6.0%). Lower FA prevalence was associated with older age. Patients with high FA scores were characterized by worse psychological state, and the risk of a FA diagnosis was increased in patients with high scores in the personality traits harm avoidance and self-transcendence, and low scores in cooperativeness (R2 = 0.18).Conclusion: The co-occurrence of FA in treatment-seeking GD patients is related to poorer emotional and psychological states. GD treatment interventions and related behavioral addictions should consider potential associations with problematic eating behavior and aim to include techniques that aid patients in better managing this behavior.

Demographic, psychiatric, and personality correlates of adults seeking treatment for disordered gambling with a comorbid binge/purge type eating disorder

“…Interestingly, there were no differences between the two groups on any of the temperament or character dimensions assessed. This result is contrary to previous findings (Claes et al, ; del Pino‐Gutiérrez et al, ; Farstad et al, ; Jiménez‐Murcia et al, , ). A potential reason could be that the relationship in temperament/character between binge/purge type eating disorder and gambling disorder is moderated by gender (Alvarez‐Moya et al, ).…”

Are trans diagnostic models of eating disorders fit for purpose? A consideration of the evidence for food addiction

“…The repeated occurrence of these behaviours therefore results in a shift in the overall balance between positive and negative affects, thereby increasing the desire for further activation of the hedonic system . This can lead to the development of a vicious circle of behaviour, where susceptibility is potentially moderated by gender …”

Food addiction and impaired executive functions in women with obesity

“…This mismatch between results could be explained bearing in mind the heterogeneity found in people with OB and the presence of ED comorbidity (de Vries & Meule, ; Granero et al, ). Moreover, it has been postulated that food addiction severity might serve as an indicator of subclinical binge eating behaviours (Alvarenga et al, ; Cope & Gould, ; Davis, ), overall ED severity (Albayrak et al, ; Granero et al, ), and dysfunctional personality traits (Granero et al, ; Jiménez‐Murcia et al, ; Wolz, Granero, & Fernández‐Aranda, ).…”