Validation of the dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0 and estimation of the weighted food addiction score in a sample of adolescents from the general population

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity was higher among middle-aged adults (42.8%) than among younger adults (35.7%).• The prevalence of obesity was higher among youth aged 6-11 years (18.4%) and adolescents aged 12-19 years (20.6%) compared with children aged 2-5 years (13.9%).• The overall prevalence of obesity was higher among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adults than among non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic Asian adults. The same pattern was seen among youth.

Psychometric validation of the full Yale food addiction scale for children 2.0 among adolescents from the general population and adolescents with a history of mental disorder

“…Consistent with prior research in adults and youths (Gearhardt et al., 2016; Horsager et al., 2021a, 2021b; Meule & Gearhardt, 2019; Oliveira et al., 2021; Schiestl & Gearhardt, 2018; Skinner et al., 2021), food addiction was associated with greater eating pathology, including binge eating frequency. Of note, the correlations between food addiction and eating pathology were moderate in strength, which provides evidence that the concept of food addiction and other measures of eating pathology cannot be conflated with one another.…”

“…In the population of adolescents with a history of mental disorder, the mean age was 15.5 years (SD = 1.3, Range 13–18), and 63.4% were females. The results of the attrition analyses are available in (Horsager et al., 2021a, 2021b). In summary, compared to the non‐respondents, the respondents were more likely to be female, and to have parents with higher education and higher income (both samples).…”

“…The data for the study stem from the Food Addiction Denmark Project (Horsager et al., 2019), a nationwide survey and register‐based cross‐sectional study conducted in Denmark in 2018. An in‐depth description of the Food Addiction Denmark Project is provided by (Horsager et al., 2019, 2021a, 2021b).…”

Commentary on Minhas et al.: Food addiction––the role of substance and environmental factors

“…Given that children and teens are generally more impulsive than adults [14], they may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of the HP food environment. Food addiction is prevalent in children and teenagers, which is related to obesity and poorer mental health [15,16]. Personalized interventions that target addictive mechanisms may increase the success rates of current diet-change interventions for adults and children.…”