Abstract
ObjectivesWe propose that highly processed foods share pharmacokinetic properties (e.g. concentrated dose, rapid rate of absorption) with drugs of abuse, due to the addition of fat and/or refined carbohydrates and the rapid rate the refined carbohydrates are absorbed into the system, indicated by glycemic load (GL). The current study provides preliminary evidence for the foods and food attributes implicated in addictive-like eating.DesignCross-sectional.SettingUniversity (Study One) and community (Study Two).Participants120 undergraduates participated in Study One and 384 participants recruited through Amazon MTurk participated in Study Two.MeasurementsIn Study One, participants (n = 120) completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) followed by a forced-choice task to indicate which foods, out of 35 foods varying in nutritional composition, were most associated with addictive-like eating behaviors. Using the same 35 foods, Study Two utilized hierarchical linear modeling to investigate which food attributes (e.g., fat grams) were related to addictive-like eating behavior (at level one) and explored the influence of individual differences for this association (at level two).ResultsIn Study One, processed foods, higher in fat and GL, were most frequently associated with addictive-like eating behaviors. In Study Two, processing was a large, positive predictor for whether a food was associated with problematic, addictive-like eating behaviors. BMI and YFAS symptom count were small-to-moderate, positive predictors for this association. In a separate model, fat and GL were large, positive predictors of problematic food ratings. YFAS symptom count was a small, positive predictor of the relationship between GL and food ratings.ConclusionThe current study provides preliminary evidence that not all foods are equally implicated in addictive-like eating behavior, and highly processed foods, which may share characteristics with drugs of abuse (e.g. high dose, rapid rate of absorption) appear to be particularly associated with “food addiction.”
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity in the United States continues to increase, with more than 85% of adults projected to be overweight or obese by 2030 [1]
Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) symptom count was associated with body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.211, p = 0.020), but not gender
There was a significant association of YFAS symptom count with BMI, the association was not large enough to raise concerns about multicollinearity
Summary
The prevalence of obesity in the United States continues to increase, with more than 85% of adults projected to be overweight or obese by 2030 [1]. Gearhardt et al [7] developed and validated the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), which uses DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence to quantify symptoms of addictive-like eating (see Table 1). Addictive-like eating has been associated with increased impulsivity and emotional reactivity, which are implicated in substance-use disorders [9]. Individuals endorsing symptoms of “food addiction” exhibit increased activation in reward-related regions (e.g., striatum, medial orbitofrontal cortex) in response to food cues, consistent with other addictive disorders [10]. Higher scores on the YFAS have been associated with a composite genetic index of dopamine signaling [11] This multilocus genetic profile has been related to dopamine signaling capacity, which may be a risk factor for addictive disorders [12,13]
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