Prevalence of Food Addiction in Overweight/Obese Adolescents as Measured by the Yale Food Addiction Scale

Abstract

Background Little is known about addictive-like eating in obese adolescents. We examined prevalence of food addiction in overweight/obese (OW/OB) adolescents, and its relation to weight loss strategies. Methods: 22 OW/OB adolescents were recruited for a weight management program at a vocational training high school. Participants completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and selected questions from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and had their height and weight measured. Results: Most participants were male (91%), Hispanic (82%) and obese (BMI 蠅95th percentile; 77%). 4 participants reported potentially dangerous dieting behaviors (diet pills/laxatives/fasting/vomiting), and the majority responding to all YFAS questions (n=18/19; 95%) reported at least 1 addiction symptom, with a few participants (n=4/19; 21%) reporting 蠅3 addiction symptoms. 1 participant met the criteria for a diagnosis of food addiction. Almost all participants reported a persistent desire/repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit (n=21/22; 95%), and about ¼ reported dedicating lots of time to food consumption, giving up other important activities, and tolerance. There was a trend towards higher prevalence of reported dangerous weight loss activities (50% vs. 7%; p=0.097) for participants reporting 蠅3 vs. <3 symptoms of food addiction, respectively. Conclusions Symptoms of food addiction were commonly reported among OW/OB adolescents. Relationships between symptoms of food addiction and weight loss strategies and outcomes should be further explored in a larger study. Funded by: La Tierra Sagrada Society