Food addiction prevalence and concurrent validity in African American adolescents with obesity.

Abstract

Food addiction, measured by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), has been associated with obesity, eating-related problems (e.g., bingeing), and problematic consumption of highly processed foods. Studies on this topic have primarily examined adult samples with an overrepresentation of White individuals, and little is known about addictive-like eating in adolescents, particularly African American adolescents who exhibit high rates of obesity and eating pathology. The current study examined the prevalence of food addiction and its convergent validity with percent overweight, eating-related problems, and self-reported dietary intake in a sample of 181 African American adolescents with obesity. Approximately 10% of participants met for food addiction, measured by the YFAS for children (YFAS-C). YFAS-C scores were most strongly associated with objective binge episodes (OBE), though significant relationships were also observed with objective overeating episodes (OOE), percent overweight relative to age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI), and, more modestly, subjective binge episodes (SBE). YFAS-C scores were also related to greater consumption of all nutrient characteristics of interest (calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugar, added sugar), though most strongly with trans fat, a type of fat found most frequently in highly processed foods. These findings suggest that the combination of exhibiting a loss of control while consuming an objectively large amount of food seems to be most implicated in food addiction for African American adolescents with obesity. The present work also provides evidence that individuals with food addiction may consume elevated quantities of highly processed foods, relative to those without addictive-like eating. (PsycINFO Database Record

Prevalence of food addiction in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Kappa for the abstract review was 0.88 (95% CI; 0.77–0.98), and Kappa for the full text review was 0.92 (95% CI; 0.84–0.99). All 22 studies were cross‐sectional 24,28–48 . No longitudinal studies were identified in the search.…”

“…Prevalence of FA as determined using the YFAS‐C has been reported in 18 publications 24,28–32,34–39,41,42,45–48 (Table 2). The meta‐analysis estimated an overall FA prevalence at 15% (95% CI: 11–19%) among children and adolescents, with an I 2 of 95.64%.…”

An addiction model‐based mobile health weight loss intervention in adolescents with obesity

“…It has been theorized that overeating may have addictive qualities , and there is a growing body of literature which reports that craving for drugs and drive for food involve similar hypothalamic pathways as seen on functional MRI (fMRI) studies . Recent studies have reported that 5.9–30.7% of adolescents with overweight and obesity enrolled in weight management interventions endorse addictive‐like eating habits, similar to the 15–19% reported by adults seeking obesity treatment . Interestingly, few weight management interventions have tested therapeutic techniques founded in addiction medicine principles to date, targeted towards adolescents .…”

Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0: A dimensional approach to scoring

“…In a nonclinical sample of Chinese adolescents, YFAS‐C scores were associated with increased binge eating (i.e., consuming an objectively large amount of food plus loss of control; Chen, Tang, Guo, Liu, & Xiao, ). In adolescents with overweight and obesity, YFAS‐C scores have also been associated with binge eating as well as overeating (i.e., consuming an objectively large amount of food without a loss of control), elevated cravings, greater attentional and motor impulsivity, and higher BMI (Meule, Müller, Gearhardt, & Blechert, ; Schulte, Jacques‐Tiura, Gearhardt, & Naar, ). Finally, in a group of Dutch adolescents in an inpatient psychiatry unit, scores on the YFAS‐C have been associated with increased hunger and disinhibition (Albayrak et al, ).…”