The Association Between Food Addiction and Weight Status in School-Age Children and Adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundThe association between food addiction (FA) and weight status in children and adolescents remains poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the association between FA and weight status using the validated Chinese version of the dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0 (dYFAS-C 2.0).MethodsParticipants were enrolled from clinic visitors for regular physical check in a children’s hospital. The dYFAS-C 2.0 was translated into Chinese and validated using reliability and validity tests. The participants’ body mass index Z score (BMIZ) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were used to characterize weight status. The FA severity was assessed using the translated dYFAS-C 2.0.ResultsAmong the 903 children and adolescents enrolled, 426 (47.2%) completed the survey [277 (65%) females and 149 (35%) males]. The Cronbach α of translated dYFAS-C 2.0 was 0.934, and confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable model fit. FA correlated positively with BMIZ and WHtR in the whole sample after adjusting for the effect of gender (p < 0.001). Further analyses showed that the correlation remained significant in participants with BMIZ > 1 (p = 0.006) but not in those with BMIZ ≤ 1 (p = 0.220). However, the correlations between FA and WHtR were statistically significant in both participants with or without abdominal obesity (p < 0.05). The FA could explain 12.1 and 15.8% of variance in BMIZ and WHtR, respectively. The corresponding cutoff points of FA for excessive weight risk were 0.7 (BMIZ) and 0.4 (WHtR).ConclusionThe dYFAS-C 2.0 has good reliability and validity in the Chinese population. FA is associated with weight status characterized by BMIZ and WHtR, especially in participants with BMIZ > 1 and in those with abdominal obesity.Clinical Trial Registration[www.chictr.org.cn], identifier [ChiCTR2100052239].

Socio-Demographic, Self-Control, Bullying, Parenting, and Sleep as Proximal Factors Associated with Food Addiction among Adolescents

“…Interestingly, this study found that female (but not male) BMI z-scores and socio-economic status (SEIFA) were significantly correlated with the total FA (YFAS-C) symptom score (r = 0.115, p < 0.001, and r = −0.066, p = 0.005, respectively); however, they were not found to be significant in the regression model. Several studies have recently reported significant positive correlations between FA symptoms and BMI z-scores [ 54 , 55 , 56 ], indicating that as BMI z-score increases YFAS symptom score also increases. While income appears to be associated with unhealthy eating behaviours and obesity [ 57 ], the link between socio-economic status and FA is currently limited with one study reporting similar findings of greater YFAS symptoms related to increased BMI and low household income [ 36 ].…”

Prediction of body fat increase from food addiction scale in school-aged children and adolescents: A longitudinal cross-lagged study

“…BMIZ, body mass index z-score; FC, fat content; VFL, visceral fat level. score of 0.7 was strongly associated with higher BMIZ and could be an indicator of high FA risk (23). In this study, participants with a high risk of FA at baseline had a 2-3 times probability of being diagnosed as excessive weight during follow-up.…”

“…The participants' additive-like eating behavior was characterized using the FA scores assessed by the Chinese version of the dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0 (dYFAS-C 2.0) (23). In 2018, Schiestl and Gearhardt (24) developed the dYFAS-C 2.0 based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fifth edition.…”

“…A higher score of dYFAS-C 2.0-C indicated a higher FA level (24). The Chinese version of dYFAS-C 2.0-C was translated and validated with good internal reliability of 0.934 (23). In this study, the average score was used to indicate the FA level.…”

“…In this study, the average score was used to indicate the FA level. An FA score of >0.7 was categorized as a high risk of FA according to our previous study (23).…”