How does food addiction influence dietary intake profile?

Aylin Ayaz,Zehra Buyuktuncer,Asli Akyol,A Gulden Pekcan,Halit Tanju Besler,Reyhan Nergiz-Unal,Damla Dedebayraktar,Amanda Bruce

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0195541

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether there was any difference in eating pattern, abnormal eating behaviour, obesity and the number of food addiction symptoms according to food addiction presence. A total sample of 851 healthy subjects living in Ankara (n = 360 male, n = 491 female) aged 19–65 years were included in this cross-sectional survey. Data on demographic information, 24-hour dietary recalls, Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), and anthropometric measurements were collected through face-to-face interviews. Overall, 11.4% of participants were identified as “food addicted” (F: 13.0%; M: 9.2%). Subjects meeting criteria for ‘food addiction' had higher body mass index (35.1% were obese and 3.1% were underweight), compared to subjects without food addiction (13.1% were obese and 10.2% were underweight) (p<0.05). Abnormal eating attitudes estimated with EAT-26 were determined as 45.5% in males, 37.5% in females and 40.2% in total, among subjects with food addiction. Daily energy, protein and fat intakes were significantly higher in food addicted females, compared to non-addicted females (p<0.05). Participants with food addiction reported significantly more problems with foods, which contain high amounts of fat and sugar, compared to the participants without food addiction. Food addiction behaviour should be considered as a part of efforts towards reducing food related problems involving obesity.

Highlights

By reaching epidemic proportions globally, obesity has become a major public health problem
Since there is a lack of knowledge about the addiction to food or eating in human beings, this study aimed to investigate whether any difference in eating pattern, abnormal eating behaviour, body mass index, abdominal obesity, nutrient intake and the number of food addiction symptoms according to the presence of food addiction
Evidence of food addiction continues to grow, limited number of studies have examined whether food addiction or addictive-like eating is attributed to obesity related eating behaviours or not [13,34] As a response to the need for a reliable and validated method to define food addiction hypothesis and its contribution to eating behaviour problems, Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) was developed by Gearhardt et al in 2009 in English [26]

Summary

Introduction

By reaching epidemic proportions globally, obesity has become a major public health problem. More than 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, among which over 600 million were obese [1]. According to Turkey Nutrition and Health Survey (TNHS) 2010 data, obesity and overweight prevalence among Turkish adults were 30.3% and 34.6%, respectively [2]. Genetics and psychological and demographical and importantly environmental factors contribute to the increased obesity rates [3]. In this context obesogenic environment is characterized with palatable, energy-dense and inexpensive foods that are available abundantly, and consumption of these foods might be irresistible [4].

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