Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults

Since it had been hypothesized that energy-dense, hyper-palatable foods are related to addictive-like eating behaviors, this 2015 study analyzed the association between intakes of certain foods with food addiction among a young Australian population, and aimed to describe these associated nutrient intake profiles. A total of 462 participants (86% female, 73% normal weight, aged 18-35) completed the online cross-sectional survey. Sixty eight subjects (14.7%) were classified as food addicted (FAD) according to the YFAS predefined scoring criteria. The food-addicted group were majority female and averaged a higher body mass index than those non-food addicted. Pursey et al. (2015) found that greater YFAS symptom scores were related with higher proportion of intake coming from energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods such as candy, take out food and baked sweet products, as well as with lower percentage energy intake from nutrient-dense core foods including whole-grain products and breakfast cereals. While these remained statistically significant after age, sex and BMI category were accounted for, the effect sizes were admittedly small. The repeat of this experiment in a nationally representative sample may be warranted. [NPID: sugar, processed food, food addiction]

Year: 2015

Reference: Pursey, K. M., Collins, C. E., Stanwell, P., & Burrows, T. L. (2015). Foods and dietary profiles associated with 'food addiction' in young adults. Addictive behaviors reports, 2, 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2015.05.007

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