Prevalence of ‘Food Addiction' as Measured with the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 in a Representative German Sample and Its Association with Sex, Age and Weight Categories

Abstract

Background/Aims: To assess the prevalence and correlates of addictive-like eating behavior in Germany. Methods: The German version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) 2.0 was used to investigate, for the first time, the prevalence of ‘food addiction' in a representative sample aged 18-65 years (N = 1,034). Results: The prevalence of ‘food addiction' measured by the YFAS 2.0 was 7.9%. Individuals meeting criteria for ‘food addiction' had higher BMI and were younger than individuals not meeting the threshold. Underweight (15.0%) and obese (17.2%) individuals exhibited the highest prevalence rate of ‘food addiction'. Addictive-like eating was not associated with sex, education level, or place of residence. Conclusion: YFAS 2.0 ‘food addiction' was met by nearly 8% of the population. There is a non-linear relationship between addictive-like eating and BMI, with the highest prevalence among underweight and obese persons. These findings suggest that ‘food addiction' may be a contributor to overeating but may also reflect a distinct phenotype of problematic eating behavior not synonymous with obesity. Further, the elevated prevalence of YFAS 2.0 ‘food addiction' among underweight individuals may reflect an overlap with eating disorders and warrants attention in future research.

Food addiction and other addictive behaviours in bariatric surgery candidates

“…Almost one third of the current sample of bariatric surgery candidates met the YFAS 2.0 threshold for FA. The prevalence was higher than in the general population (Hauck et al, ), which is in line with the literature (Ivezaj et al, ) and with our hypothesis. It should be noted that the prevalence in the current sample (27.3%) was close to that reported for individuals with class 2/3 obesity from the general population (i.e., 21.6%/30.3%) by Hauck et al ().…”

“…Using the German version of the YFAS 2.0 (Meule, Müller, Gearhardt, & Blechert, ), the prevalence of FA in the German general population was estimated to be 7.9% (Hauck, Weiss, Schulte, Meule, & Ellrott, ). Individuals with classes 2 and 3 obesity endorsed the highest rates of FA with 21.6% and 30.3% (Hauck et al, ), which corresponds with research indicating a link between FA and obesity (Davis et al, ; Gearhardt, Boswell, & White, ; Grosshans, Loeber, & Kiefer, ).…”

“…The prevalence was higher than in the general population (Hauck et al, ), which is in line with the literature (Ivezaj et al, ) and with our hypothesis. It should be noted that the prevalence in the current sample (27.3%) was close to that reported for individuals with class 2/3 obesity from the general population (i.e., 21.6%/30.3%) by Hauck et al (). This gives rise to the question of whether FA is particularly prevalent in preoperative bariatric surgery patients or in individuals with obesity in general.…”

Associations of Food Addiction in a Sample Recruited to Be Nationally Representative of the United States

“…Given that all main effects and interactions were significant in this multivariate model, separate models assessing the main effects and interactions of each demographic variable with mYFAS 2.0 are presented for ease of interpretation. As prior literature has observed opposite associations between age with YFAS and BMI (Flint et al, ; Hauck et al, ), all analyses examining the association of mYFAS 2.0 scores with BMI included age as a covariate.…”

The association of serum leptin levels with food addiction is moderated by weight status in adolescent psychiatric inpatients

“…Many other obese subjects do not present with an eating disorder (ED) and excessive overeating and may rather have dieted extensively in an attempt to lose weight (Thomas et al, ). Both groups are occupied with intense ruminations about food/eating and might show components of “addiction” (Hauck, Weiss, Schulte, Meule, & Ellrott, ). Two concepts to characterize overeating with respect to addiction paradigms are currently discussed (Albayrak, Wölfle, & Hebebrand, ; Long, Blundell, & Finlayson, ; Schulte, Potenza, & Gearhardt, ; Volkow, Wang, Tomasi, & Baler, ): “Food addiction” (Schulte et al, ) might represent a potential future diagnosis within the diagnostic subcategory substance use disorders (SUDs) in a future Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) version (see DSM‐5; APA, 2013).…”