Inter-Individual Differences in Food Addiction and Other Forms of Addictive-Like Eating Behavior

Food addiction and binge eating disorder are linked to shared and unique deficits in emotion regulation among female seeking bariatric surgery

BACKGROUND

Problematic eating behaviors can indicate obesity-related problems. Food addiction (FA) is not classified as an official diagnosis. However, given the many commonalities between FA and binge-eating disorder (BED) within the context of obesity, it is imperative to conduct a comparative investigation. The current study aimed to identify overlapping and distinctive features in emotion dysregulation as an underlying mechanism and emotional eating as a clinical feature among four groups of females with obesity seeking bariatric surgery.

METHODS

Data on emotion dysregulation and emotional eating were derived from the total 128 Females with obesity seeking bariatric surgery (Mage = 38.91 ± 10.59, MBMI = 42.10 kg/m2 ± 4.43) divided into four groups: those with FA (n = 35), BED (n = 35), BED + FA (n = 31) and a control group of individuals with obesity only (OB; n = 27), using well-established measures.

RESULTS

Regarding descriptive statistics, the BED + FA group showed the highest levels of emotional dysregulation (M = 111.09) and emotional eating (M = 46.80), while the OB group acquired the lowest scores (M = 70.44 and M = 27.29, respectively). Univariate analyses of variance revealed significant differences between the four groups in terms of emotion dysregulation F(3, 124) = 24.63, p < .01 and emotional eating F(3, 124) = 26.26, p < .01. All of the emotion dysregulation domains revealed significant differences too. Pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni post hoc tests did not reveal any significant differences between BED + FA and BED groups, while all of our other hypotheses regarding this matter were confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

The study found that individuals with obesity and comorbid BED exhibit greater emotional dysregulation compared to those with OB or FA, indicating a need to assess BED in individuals with obesity. Emotion dysregulation may be linked to increased BED and FA, but those with BED seem more affected by limited access to emotion regulation strategies. These findings support the notion that PEBs are associated with emotion dysregulation and underscore the need for tailored interventions that target emotion regulation skills before and after bariatric surgery.

"It's about What You've Assigned to the Salad": Focus Group Discussions on the Relationship between Food and Mood

Current observational and interventional studies in nutritional psychiatry suggest that healthy dietary patterns rich in fresh whole foods could protect against depressive symptoms, and that unhealthy dietary patterns high in ultra-processed and refined foods could contribute to depressive symptoms. However, no studies have explored detailed subjective accounts behind the food and mood relationship. This study aimed to uncover unknown factors in the human experience with food and mood. Using a phenomenological framework, this focus group study applied thematic template analysis to accounts of over 50 Australians aged between 18 and 72. Three themes were identified from the transcript of the focus groups: (i) reactive and proactive relationships with food, (ii) acknowledgement of individual diversity relating to eating and mental health, and (iii) improving mood by removing food restriction and eating intuitively. The data highlights the complexity of the relationship between food and mood that extends beyond biological mechanisms which could be used to extend current epidemiological and intervention studies in the field of dietary patterns and depression.

Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) and modified YFAS 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0): Rasch analysis and differential item functioning

BACKGROUND

Food addiction (FA) is a prevalent concern that may manifest as poorly controlled food consumption and promote overweight/obesity. Thus, having a well-established instrument for assessment may facilitate better prevention and treatment. The current study investigated the psychometric properties of two common measures of FA (i.e., the Yale Food Addiction Scale [YFAS] 2.0 and its modified version, mYFAS 2.0) using a robust statistical analysis (Rasch model).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, the scales were sent to 974 students studying in higher education (60% females) in Taiwan through online media including email and social networks. Rasch modeling was used to assess dimensionality, difficulty level, and item misfit and hierarchy. Differential item functioning (DIF) was performed to examine consistency of the items across gender and weight status.

RESULTS

Rasch analysis indicated 3 items of the 35 items belonging to the YFAS 2.0 (8.6%) and none belonging to the mYFAS 2.0 were misfit. Unidimensionality and construct validity of both scales were supported by appropriate goodness-of-fit for diagnostic criteria. The person separation was 3.14 (reliability = 0.91) for the YFAS 2.0 and 2.17 (reliability = 0.82) for mYFAS 2.0, indicating the scales could distinguish participants into more than 3 strata. Only one substantial DIF was found for diagnostic criteria of "Failure to fulfill major role obligation" in the YFAS 2.0 across gender.

CONCLUSION

According to Rasch modeling, both the YFAS 2.0 and mYFAS 2.0 have acceptable construct validity in Chinese-speaking youth. Scoring methods using either diagnostic criteria or symptom counts for both the YFAS 2.0 and mYFAS 2.0 are supported by the present Rasch findings.