Meule, A., Heckel, D., Jurowich, C. F., Vögele, C., & Kübler, A. (2014). Correlates of food addiction in obese individuals seeking bariatric surgery. Clinical Obesity, 4
(4), 228–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12065
From the research article’s abstract: “Recent evidence suggests that palatable, high-calorie foods may have an addictive potential. Accordingly, obesity and overconsumption of such foods have been associated with addiction-like eating behaviour. The present study investigated whether individuals with obesity can be classified as food-addicted and which factors would differentiate between food-addicted and non-addicted individuals. We administered the German version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale and other questionnaires to obese individuals seeking bariatric surgery (N = 96). Results showed that 40% of the sample could be diagnosed as food-addicted. Food-addicted individuals reported more frequent food cravings, higher eating disorder psychopathology and more depressive symptoms than the non-addicted group. Age, body mass and gender distribution did not differ between groups. The food addiction group had higher attentional but similar motor and non-planning impulsivity, and had lower scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) compared with the non-addicted group.