The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is a self-report questionnaire developed to assess eating behaviors that resemble symptoms of substance dependence, such as loss of control, unsuccessful attempts to reduce consumption, continued use despite negative consequences, and clinically significant impairment or distress. The original YFAS was developed by adapting substance-dependence criteria from the DSM-IV and was designed primarily as a research tool for investigating the concept of food addiction (Gearhardt, Corbin, & Brownell, 2009).
Author and reviewer
Editorial responsibilityReferences and further reading
- Gearhardt, A. N., Corbin, W. R., & Brownell, K. D. (2009). Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Appetite, 52(2), 430–436. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2008.12.003. PubMed View source
- Gearhardt, A. N., Corbin, W. R., & Brownell, K. D. (2016). Development of the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(1), 113–121. DOI: 10.1037/adb0000136. PubMed View source
How to cite this entry
Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology. (2026). The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). The Center for Nutritional Psychology.
https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/encyclopedia/the-yale-food-addiction-scale-yfas/Know a term that belongs in the Encyclopedia?
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