Kalon, E, Hong, J.Y., Tobin, C, Schulte, T. Psychological and Neurobiological Correlates of Food Addiction Int Rev Neurobiol. 2016 ; 129: 85–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2016.06.003 Useful background on how FA affects different areas of brain nihms876222 .pdf
Association between fasting blood glucose levels and stroke events: a large-scale community-based cohort study from China
Zhang Y, Gu S, Wang C, Liu D, Zhang Q, Yang M, Zhou Z, Zuo H. Association between fasting blood glucose levels and stroke events: a large-scale community-based cohort study from China. BMJ Open. 2021 Aug 18;11(8):e050234. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050234 PMID: 34408054 higher FBG levels are associated with an increased stroke in the general population and meta-analysis corroborated this finding. Furthermore, we observed that the association was more prominent in women than in men. We also observed strong risk associations among postmenopausal or oophorectomy women. FBG levels as a routine and low-cost measurement could be used to identify individuals with higher stroke risk in the future. bmjopen-2021-050234 .pdf
Associations of Changes in Blood Lipid Concentrations with Changes in Dietary Cholesterol Intake in the Context of a Healthy Low-Carbohydrate Weight Loss Diet: A Secondary Analysis of the DIETFITS Trial
Vergara M, Hauser ME, Aronica L, Rigdon J, Fielding-Singh P, Shih CW, Gardner CD. Associations of Changes in Blood Lipid Concentrations with Changes in Dietary Cholesterol Intake in the Context of a Healthy Low-Carbohydrate Weight Loss Diet: A Secondary Analysis of the DIETFITS Trial. Nutrients. 2021 Jun 4;13(6):1935. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061935 PMID: 34200027 Twelve-month changes in cholesterol intake were not significantly associated with 12-month changes in LDL-C, HDL-C, or triglycerides. Diet recall data suggested participants’ increase in dietary cholesterol was partly due to replacing refined grains and sugars with eggs. An increase in daily dietary cholesterol intake to levels substantially above the previous 300 mg upper limit was not associated with a negative impact on lipid profiles in the setting of a healthy, low-carbohydrate weight loss diet. nutrients-13-01935 .pdf
Gut hormones, adipokines, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines/markers in loss of control eating: A scoping review
Yu Y, Fernandez ID, Meng Y, Zhao W, Groth SW. Gut hormones, adipokines, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines/markers in loss of control eating: A scoping review. Appetite. 2021 Nov 1;166:105442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105442 Epub 2021 Jun 8. PMID: 34111480 Loss of control (LOC) eating is the defining feature of binge-eating disorder, and it has particular relevance for bariatric patients. The biomarkers of LOC eating are unclear; however, gut hormones (i.e., ghrelin, cholecystokinin [CCK], peptide YY [PYY], glucagon-like peptide 1 [GLP-1], and pancreatic polypeptide [PP]), adipokines (i.e., leptin, adiponectin), and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines/markers (e.g., high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP]) are candidates due to their involvement in the psychophysiological mechanisms of LOC eating. This review aimed to synthesize research that has investigated these biomarkers with LOC eating. Because LOC eating is commonly examined within the context of binge-eating disorder, is sometimes used interchangeably with subclinical binge-eating, and is the latent construct underlying disinhibition, uncontrolled eating, and food addiction, these eating behaviors were included in the search. Only studies among individuals with overweight or obesity were included. Among the identified 31 studies, 2 studies directly examined LOC eating and 4 studies were conducted among bariatric patients. Most studies were case-control in design (n = 16) and comprised female-dominant (n = 13) or female-only (n = 13) samples. Studies generally excluded fasting total ghrelin, fasting CCK, fasting PYY, and fasting PP as correlates of the examined eating behaviors. However, there was evidence that the examined eating behaviors were associated with lower levels of fasting acyl ghrelin (the active form of ghrelin) and adiponectin, higher levels of leptin and hsCRP, and altered responses of postprandial ghrelin, CCK, and PYY. The use of GLP-1 analog was able to decrease binge-eating. In conclusion, this review identified potential biomarkers of LOC eating. Future studies would benefit from a direct focus on LOC eating (especially in the bariatric population), using longitudinal designs, exploring potential mediators and moderators, and increased inclusion of the male population. Despite the limited number of studies and conflicting results, there is evidence that supports the associations of lower levels of fasting acyl ghrelin and adiponectin, higher levels of leptin, hsCRP, and ESR, and altered responses of postprandial ghrelin (blunted), CCK (blunted or amplified), and PYY (amplified) to meal ingestion with the eating behaviors including LOC eating, subclinical binge-eating, BED, disinhibition, uncontrolled eating, and food addiction yu2021.pdf
The effects of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic control and maternal-neonatal outcomes in women with established gestational diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Wang M, Chen Z, Hu Y, Wang Y, Wu Y, Lian F, Li H, Yang J, Xu X. The effects of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic control and maternal-neonatal outcomes in women with established gestational diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Nutr. 2021 May;40(5):3148-3157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2020.12.016 Epub 2020 Dec 21. PMID: 33386179 Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that supplementation of GDM women with vitamin D may lead to an improvement in glycemic control and reduction of adverse maternal-neonatal outcomes. Study link
Current Intervention Treatments for Food Addiction: A Systematic Review
Leary M, Pursey KM, Verdejo-Garcia A, Burrows TL. Current Intervention Treatments for Food Addiction: A Systematic Review. Behav Sci (Basel). 2021 May 23;11(6):80. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11060080PMID: 34071059 From the conclusions: There are few treatment studies that report YFAS-based FA symptoms or diagnosis pre- and post-interventions. Although this review did include a broad and diverse range of interventions where the majority of studies reported an overall reduction in FA outcomes, the limited number of studies, the heterogeneity in study design and quality and the differences between endpoints across different intervention modalities make it difficult to provide clear recommendations on the most effective treatments. Review article
Current Intervention Treatments for Food Addiction
Leary, M.; Pursey, K.M.; Verdejo-Garcia, A.; Burrows, T.L. Current Intervention Treatments for Food Addiction: A Systematic Review. Behav. Sci. 2021, 11, 80. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11060080 Research on the concept of Food Addiction (FA) has steadily grown and, based on a widely used self-report, FA is estimated to affect between 16–20% of the adult population. However, there are few interventions available for people with self-reported FA, and their efficacy is unclear. The primary aim of the review was to examine the efficacy of different interventions, including behavioural/lifestyle, medication and surgical approaches, for reducing symptoms and/or changing diagnosis of FA among adolescents and adults. A secondary aim was to examine the influence of sex as a moderator of intervention effects. A systematic search was performed from 2008–2020 to identify studies that used the YFAS to assess the effectiveness of interventions on FA. Nine studies were identified (n = 7 adults, n = 2 adolescents) including a total of 812 participants (range 22–256) with an average of 69% females per study. The types of interventions included medications (n = 3), lifestyle modification (n = 3), surgical (n = 2) and behavioural (n = 1), with FA being assessed as a secondary outcome in all studies. Five studies in adults reported a significant reduction in FA symptoms or diagnosis from pre to post-intervention, two when compared to a control group and three in the intervention group only. Efficacious interventions included: medication (combination of naltrexone and bupropion, as well as pexacerfont), bariatric surgery and lifestyle modification. No significant changes in FA were reported in adolescent studies. Given few studies were identified by the review, there is insufficient evidence to provide clear recommendations for practice; however, some interventions show potential for reducing self-reported FA outcomes in adults. Future research should explore the longer-term efficacy of interventions and the effectiveness of treatments with sufficient sample sizes. behavsci-11-00080.pdf
Food Addiction and Lifestyle Habits among University Students
Romero-Blanco C, Hernández-Martínez A, Parra-Fernández ML, Onieva-Zafra MD, Prado-Laguna MDC, Rodríguez-Almagro Food Addiction and Lifestyle Habits among University Students. J. Nutrients. 2021 Apr 18;13(4):1352. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041352 . PMID: 33919610 The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in our society, with a complex, multifactorial origin, and associated with greater morbidity and mortality in the population. Food addiction (FA) is a common disorder in overweight/obese people, which appears to be increasingly common in young people. This study analyzed food addiction in a group of young university students and to examine its association with body composition, quality of sleep, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, physical activity/sedentary habits, tobacco or alcohol consumption, and health status. A total of 536 undergraduate nursing students participated in a questionnaire that included the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0). Up to 6.4% of the students presented FA. Statistically significant associations were observed in the variables for sleep quality odds ratio (OR) 4.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66–13.87), anxiety/depression OR 8.71 (95% CI: 3.93–19.27), body mass index (BMI) OR 8.32 (95% CI: 3.81–18.15) and sedentary lifestyle OR 2.33 (95% CI: 1.09–5.01). A predictive model was developed after binary logistic regression (area under the ROC curve 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77–0.91). Students with FA presented higher BMI values, worse sleep quality, anxiety or depression problems, and more time spent in sedentary behaviors nutrients-13-01352 .pdf
Food Junkies: The Truth
The Truth About Food Addiction
Food Junkies: Recovery
Recovery From Food Addiction

