Schiestl, E. T., & Gearhardt, A. N. (2018). Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0: A dimensional approach to scoring. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 605-617. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2648 From the research article’s abstract: “Objective: Assessment approaches for food addiction in younger samples have not been updated to reflect recently revised diagnostic approaches for addictive disorders. The aim of the current study is to develop a new dimensional approach to assess food addiction in adolescents that is psychometrically sound, developmentally appropriate, and reflective of the updated diagnostic criteria. Methods: The dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0 (dYFAS-C 2.0) and related measures were administered to 127 adolescents from the community in the United States. Endorsement rates for each question were reviewed, and the psychometric properties were evaluated. Results: Problem-focused symptoms had low endorsement rates and were excluded from the final version of the scale.
Addictive Eating and Its Relation to Physical Activity and Sleep Behavior
Li, J. T. E., Pursey, K. M., Duncan, M. J., & Burrows, T. (2018). Addictive Eating and Its Relation to Physical Activity and Sleep Behavior. Nutrients, 10(10), 1428. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101428 From the research article’s abstract: “The obesity epidemic has led to the exploration of factors contributing to its etiology. Addictive eating, physical activity, and sleep behaviors have all been independently associated with obesity, and recent research suggests plausible interrelationships between food addiction, physical activity, and sleep. This study aims to investigate the relationship between food addiction with physical activity and sleep behavior. Australian adults were invited to complete an online survey which collected information including: demographics, food addiction symptoms, physical activity, sitting time and sleep behavior items. The sample comprised 1344 individuals with a mean age of 39.8 ± 13.1 years (range 18–91), of which 75.7% were female.
Development of the Highly Processed Food Withdrawal Scale
Schulte, E. M., Smeal, J. K., Lewis, J., & Gearhardt, A. N. (2018). Development of the Highly Processed Food Withdrawal Scale. Appetite, 131, 148-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.09.013 From the research article’s abstract: “Food addiction posits that highly processed foods may be capable of triggering addictive-like symptoms in some individuals, including withdrawal. The current study developed and assessed the psychometric properties of the first self-report measure of highly processed food withdrawal. Individuals (n = 231) aged 19–68 (51.9% female) were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk and reported cutting down on highly processed foods in the past year. The Highly Processed Food Withdrawal Scale (ProWS) was adapted from self-report measures of drug withdrawal and internal consistency and validity were evaluated. Paralleling the course of drug withdrawal, symptoms assessed by the ProWS were reported as most intense between days 2–5 during an attempt to cut down.
Body uneasiness is associated with food addiction symptoms: A cross-sectional study
Imperatori, C., Innamorati, M., Lamis, D. A., Farina, B., Fabbricatore, M., & Contardi, A. (2018). Body uneasiness is associated with food addiction symptoms: A cross-sectional study. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 638–644. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2640 From the research article’s abstract: “The main aim of the present study was to investigate the association between food addiction (FA) symptoms and body uneasiness in a nonclinical sample, while controlling for potential confounding variables. Participants (N = 395; 123 men) were administered self-report measures assessing FA, binge eating severity, body uneasiness, depressive symptoms, emotion dysregulation and socio-demographic variables. Body uneasiness was independently associated with FA symptoms (standardized beta coefficients ranging between 0.41 [p < 0.001] and 0.22 [p < 0.001]), even when controlling for the presence of other variables. This finding suggests that body uneasiness may be a crucial symptom in the development and/or maintenance of FA symptoms.”
Food addiction: a valid concept?
Fletcher, P. C., & Kenny, P. J. (2018). Food addiction: a valid concept? Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(13), 2506-2513. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-018-0203-9 From the perspective article’s text: “Macronutrients in palatable high-calorie food items can pack a supraphysiological punch to brain motivation circuits.”
Food addiction and impaired executive functions in women with obesity
Steward, T., Mestre-Bach, G., Vintró-Alcaraz, C., Lozano-Madrid, M., Agüera, Z., Fernández-Formoso, J. A., Granero, R., Jiménez-Murcia, S., Vilarrasa, N., García-Ruiz-de-Gordejuela, A., Veciana de Las Heras, M., Custal, N., Virgili, N., López-Urdiales, R., Gearhardt, A. N., Menchón, J. M., Soriano-Mas, C., & Fernández-Aranda, F. (2018). Food addiction and impaired executive functions in women with obesity. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 574-584. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2636 From the research article’s abstract: “Background: Individuals with obesity (OB) often report suffering from addiction-like symptoms. As in addictions, deficits in executive function domains, such as decision-making and sustained attention, are found in OB. No study to date has examined the associations between food addiction, OB, and neuropsychological performance. Method: Thirty-three adult women with OB and 36 healthy weight controls completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0, a validated instrument used to assess food-related addictive behaviours. Additionally, participants completed computerized versions of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Conners’ Continuous Performance Test, second edition (CPT-II) to examine decision-making and attentional control, respectively.
State and trait influences on attentional bias to food-cues: The role of hunger, expectancy, and self-perceived food addiction
Ruddock, H. K., Field, M., Jones, A., & Hardman, C. A. (2018). State and trait influences on attentional bias to food-cues: The role of hunger, expectancy, and self-perceived food addiction. Appetite, 131, 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.08.038 From the research article’s abstract: “Food-related attentional bias (AB) varies both between individuals (i.e. trait differences) and within individuals (i.e. state differences), as a function of a food’s momentary incentive value. People with self-perceived food addiction (SPFA) find food particularly rewarding and may therefore demonstrate increased AB to food-related cues, relative to those who do not perceive themselves as food addicts. However, these trait differences may interact with state factors, such as hunger and the perceived availability of food, to differentially affect AB to food-cues. In the current study, female participants (N = 120) completed an eye-tracking task to assess AB to chocolate pictures in which the expectancy of receiving chocolate was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis (0%, 50%, 100%). Participants were randomly allocated such that half completed the task when hungry (hungry condition), and half completed the task following a lunch meal (satiated condition).
Overeaters Anonymous: A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery
Rodríguez-Martín, B. C., & Gallego-Arjiz, B. (2018). Overeaters Anonymous: A Mutual-Help Fellowship for Food Addiction Recovery. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01491 From the research article’s abstract: “The notion that overeating can be an addictive behavior has been accepted by many individuals who suffer from this problem. Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a 12-step mutual help group founded in 1960 to support individuals who perceive themselves as food addicts (Suler and Barthelomew, 1986). However, the concept of food addiction is highly controversial (Meule, 2015). Furthermore, there is no consensus regarding whether addictive-like eating should be conceptualized as a substance-related (Schulte et al., 2015) or a behavioral addiction (Hebebrand et al., 2014). Because of this, the core concept of this article is perceived food addiction (PFA) rather than an objective and clinically accepted definition of food addiction. OA members share an abnormal relationship with food. They also share numerous failed attempts to overcome this problem (Russell-Mayhew et al., 2010).
Food addiction and other addictive behaviours in bariatric surgery candidates
Müller, A., Leukefeld, C., Hase, C., Gruner-Labitzke, K., Mall, J. W., Köhler, H., & de Zwaan, M. (2018). Food addiction and other addictive behaviours in bariatric surgery candidates. European Eating Disorders Review, 26(6), 585–596. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2629 From the research article’s abstract: “The present study investigated the association between food addiction (FA) and other addictive behaviours in 216 bariatric surgery candidates (91.7% class 3 obesity; 80.1% women; age Mdn = 44.00 years, range 18–73). Assessment included the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) and standardized self-report questionnaires to measure symptoms of disorders related to substance use (alcohol and nicotine) and behavioural addictions (gambling, Internet-use, buying, hypersexual disorders, and exercise dependence). Bivariate correlations indicated a moderate relationship of YFAS 2.0 FA symptoms with buying disorder symptoms and a weak association with Internet-use disorder symptoms. Fifty-nine patients (27.3%) met the YFAS 2.0 threshold for FA, 1.9% for alcohol use disorder, 6.0% for nicotine use disorder, 17.3% for buying disorder, 2.3% for Internet-use disorder, and 1.4% for hypersexual disorder.
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of closed-loop infraslow brain training in food addiction
Leong, S. L., Vanneste, S., Lim, J., Smith, M., Manning, P., & De Ridder, D. (2018). A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial of closed-loop infraslow brain training in food addiction. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 11659. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30181-7 From the research article’s abstract: “The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is involved in food craving in obese food addicted individuals. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study explored the potential therapeutic effects of infraslow neurofeedback (ISF-NF) on food craving targeting the PCC in obese women with symptoms of food addiction. Participants received six sessions of either ISF-NF (n = 11) or placebo (n = 10) over a three-week period. There were no reported adverse effects. Electrophysiologically, there were significant increases in infraslow activity (p = 0.0002) and infraslow/beta nesting (p < 0.001) in the PCC in the ISF-NF group (mean r = 0.004 ± 0.002) compared to placebo (mean r = 0.02 ± 0.002) two days after the last intervention. Also, there was a significant decrease in different dimensions of state food craving compared to baseline and to placebo. Findings suggest that source localized IFS-NF results in electrophysiological changes and may be associated with reduced food craving. This trial is registered at www.anzctr.org.au, identifier, ACTRN12617000601336. This study was funded by the Otago Medical Research Grant: CT375.”