Abstract
Food addiction (FA) has been associated with greater psychopathology in individuals with eating disorders (ED) and obesity (OBE). The current study aims to provide a better phenotypic characterization of the FA construct by conducting a clustering analysis of FA in both conditions (ED and OBE). The total sample was comprised of 234 participants that scored positive on the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0. (YFAS-2) (119 bulimia nervosa (BN), 50 binge eating disorder (BED), 49 other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) and 16 OBE). All participants completed a comprehensive battery of questionnaires. Three clusters of FA participants were identified. Cluster 1 (dysfunctional) was characterized by the highest prevalence of OSFED and BN, the highest ED severity and psychopathology, and more dysfunctional personality traits. Cluster 2 (moderate) showed a high prevalence of BN and BED and moderate levels of ED psychopathology. Finally, cluster 3 (adaptive) was characterized by a high prevalence of OBE and BED, low levels of ED psychopathology, and more functional personality traits. In conclusion, this study identified three distinct clusters of ED-OBE patients with FA and provides some insight into a better phenotypic characterization of the FA construct when considering psychopathology, personality and ED pathology. Future studies should address whether these three food addiction categories are indicative of therapy outcome.
Highlights
Food addiction (FA) is a concept that has been of increasing scientific interest and debate.An immense body of literature within the field of eating disorder (ED) research has emerged, with whole special issues of scientific journals being dedicated to its characterization [1,2]
All the participants in the analyses were women who met criteria for FA positive screening score based on the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS-2) questionnaire n = 234
The distribution of the whole sample according to diagnostic group was 16 OBE (6.8%), 50 binge eating disorder (BED) (21.4%), 119 bulimia nervosa (BN) (50.9%), and 49 OSFED
Summary
Food addiction (FA) is a concept that has been of increasing scientific interest and debate.An immense body of literature within the field of eating disorder (ED) research has emerged, with whole special issues of scientific journals being dedicated to its characterization [1,2]. In addition to obvious phenomenological similarities between addiction and ED (e.g., loss of control, continued use despite negative consequences, cravings), a great number of neurobiological findings have emerged to support the new concept, in preclinical studies, and in humans [3,4,5,6]. Starting off as a concept to explain a potential subtype of obesity (OBE) [7,8,9,10], FA has been associated with ED, such as bulimia nervosa (BN) [11,12,13], binge eating disorder (BED) [14,15,16], and even anorexia nervosa (AN) [17]. Surgery-induced weight loss may lead to remission of FA [21,22]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
