The Prevalence of Food Addiction as Assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: A Systematic Review
1
School of Health Sciences, Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
2
School of Health Sciences, Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
3
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2014, 6(10), 4552-4590; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6104552
Received: 1 August 2014
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Revised: 11 August 2014
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Accepted: 9 October 2014
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Published: 21 October 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Addiction)
Obesity is a global issue and it has been suggested that an addiction to certain foods could be a factor contributing to overeating and subsequent obesity. Only one tool, the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) has been developed to specifically assess food addiction. This review aimed to determine the prevalence of food addiction diagnosis and symptom scores, as assessed by the YFAS. Published studies to July 2014 were included if they reported the YFAS diagnosis or symptom score and were published in the English language. Twenty-five studies were identified including a total of 196,211 predominantly female, overweight/obese participants (60%). Using meta-analysis, the weighted mean prevalence of YFAS food addiction diagnosis was 19.9%. Food addiction (FA) diagnosis was found to be higher in adults aged >35 years, females, and overweight/obese participants. Additionally, YFAS diagnosis and symptom score was higher in clinical samples compared to non-clinical counterparts. YFAS outcomes were related to a range of other eating behavior measures and anthropometrics. Further research is required to explore YFAS outcomes across a broader spectrum of ages, other types of eating disorders and in conjunction with weight loss interventions to confirm the efficacy of the tool to assess for the presence of FA.
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Keywords:
food addiction; Yale Food Addiction Scale; YFAS; obesity; eating disorders; substance dependence; addiction
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MDPI and ACS Style
Pursey, K.M.; Stanwell, P.; Gearhardt, A.N.; Collins, C.E.; Burrows, T.L. The Prevalence of Food Addiction as Assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2014, 6, 4552-4590. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6104552
AMA Style
Pursey KM, Stanwell P, Gearhardt AN, Collins CE, Burrows TL. The Prevalence of Food Addiction as Assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2014; 6(10):4552-4590. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6104552
Chicago/Turabian StylePursey, Kirrilly M., Peter Stanwell, Ashley N. Gearhardt, Clare E. Collins, and Tracy L. Burrows. 2014. "The Prevalence of Food Addiction as Assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: A Systematic Review" Nutrients 6, no. 10: 4552-4590. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6104552
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