Abstract
PurposeExamine the prevalence and potential relationships among food addiction (FA)—as measured by Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0), eating disorders (ED)—as measured by Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS)—and exercise dependence (EXD)—as measured by Questionnaire to Diagnose Exercise Dependence in Endurance Sports (FESA), for the first time worldwide, in amateur endurance athletes.MethodsA total of 1022 German-speaking endurance athletes (44% male, Ø 36 years, Ø BMI 23 kg/m2) replied to an online questionnaire consisting of demographics, related parameters, and the German versions of YFAS 2.0, EDDS, and FESA.ResultsPrevalence of FA, ED, and EXD was 6.2, 6.5, and 30.5%. The probability for FA increases with BMI, thoughts about food and EXD score, and decreases with age and when an ED is present. People with FA and people with ED vs. people with both, FA&ED, differed significantly in this cohort. Strong significant relationships were found between FA and EXD (X2 (1) = 15.117, p < 0.001, n = 1022).ConclusionsA considerable number of amateur endurance athletes may suffer from FA. The association between FA and EXD is stronger than between ED and EXD, indicating FA as a potentially more relevant subject—than ED—for prevention or therapy in people with EXD. Further studies are needed to investigate parameters and relationships between the possibly involved types of ED, FA, and EXD.Level of evidenceLevel III, well-designed cohort analytic study.
Highlights
The concept of food addictionThe concept of ‘Food Addiction’ (FA) has gained much research and clinical attention
Prevalence of FA was comparable to a representative study within the German population (7.9%; [52] and within the range of previous population studies (5–10%; [53,54,55]), indicating that amateur endurance athletes represent a group which is at comparable possible risk for FA as the general population
Athletes are at increased risk of eating disorders (ED); this study, is one of the first to investigate the presence of FA in an athlete sample
Summary
The concept of food addictionThe concept of ‘Food Addiction’ (FA) has gained much research and clinical attention. The substance dependence diagnostic criteria from DSM-5 [4] were applied to food, and the phenomenon of addictive-like eating was named ‘FA’ [1]. Confusion exists concerning whether FA more closely represents an emerging form of behavioral addiction [6], food-type specific form of chemical dependence [7], or an emerging subtype of a clinical eating disorder (ED; the term ED refers to a clinical eating disorder) [8]. A significant amount of substance dependence diagnostic criteria, according to DSM-5 [4], seem to be similar to those criteria meeting for ED, like binge-eating disorder A potential overlap of 50–95% between FA and ED has been hypothesized
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