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Attributes of the food addiction phenotype within overweight and obesity

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Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have demonstrated overlapping behavioral features between substance-use disorders and food addiction, the latter of which is particularly prevalent among individuals with overweight or obesity. However, the unique attributes of food addiction as a possible phenotype within overweight and obesity are not fully understood.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited participants (n = 46) with overweight or obesity, nearly half (n = 20) of whom met the criteria for food addiction based on the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) and examined responses to self-report questionnaires that indexed behavioral characteristics relevant to addictive disorders.

Results

Individuals with food addiction exhibited significantly higher scores on the Palatable Eating Motives Scale overall score (p < .001) and subscales for coping (p < .001) and enhancement (p < .001) of emotions, Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire Emotional Eating subscale (p < .001), UPPS-P Impulsivity Scale negative urgency (p < .001) and lack of perseverance (p = .01) subscales, and the Food Craving Inventory overall score (p = .02) and subscales of cravings for sweets (p < .01) and fast food fats (p = .02).

Conclusion

Food addiction appears to represent a distinct phenotype within overweight and obesity, marked by greater emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and cravings, which have been observed in prior studies examining features of individuals with addictive disorders.

Level of evidence

Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Author notes

  1. Erica M. Schulte

    Present address: Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, 3535 Market Street, Suite 3032, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Erica M. Schulte & Ashley N. Gearhardt

Authors
  1. Erica M. Schulte
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  2. Ashley N. Gearhardt
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Contributions

ES and AG designed the research study, conducted the analyses, and authored the manuscript. All authors have approved the final article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erica M. Schulte.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethics approval

The University of Michigan Health and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the current study (HUM 00110867).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent included consent to publish the overall findings.

Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

The data syntax used to analyze the findings from the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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The article is part of the Topical Collection on Food and Addiction.

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Schulte, E.M., Gearhardt, A.N. Attributes of the food addiction phenotype within overweight and obesity. Eat Weight Disord 26, 2043–2049 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-01055-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-01055-7

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