Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jul;45(5):657-63.
doi: 10.1002/eat.20957. Epub 2011 Aug 30.

An examination of the food addiction construct in obese patients with binge eating disorder

Ashley N Gearhardt  1 , Marney A White, Robin M Masheb, Peter T Morgan, Ross D Crosby, Carlos M Grilo
Affiliations

An examination of the food addiction construct in obese patients with binge eating disorder

Ashley N Gearhardt et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Yale food addiction scale (YFAS) in obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED) and explored its association with measures of eating disorder and associated psychopathology.

Method: Eighty-one obese treatment-seeking BED patients were given the YFAS, structured interviews to assess psychiatric disorders and eating disorder psychopathology, and other pathology measures.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a one-factor solution with an excellent fit. Classification of "food addiction" was met by 57% of BED patients. Patients classified as meeting YFAS "food addiction" criteria had significantly higher levels of depression, negative affect, emotion dysregulation, eating disorder psychopathology, and lower self-esteem. YFAS scores were also significant predictors of binge eating frequency above and beyond other measures.

Discussion: The subset of BED patients classified as having YFAS "food addiction" appear to represent a more disturbed variant characterized by greater eating disorder psychopathology and associated pathology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Biomedical Support Disclosure

The authors reports no commercial or biomedical industry support or conflict of interest. No additional funding was received for the completion of the work.

References

    1. Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup MF, Gerberding JL. Actual causes of death in the United States. JAMA. 2004;291:1238–45. - PubMed
    1. Hudson JI, Hiripi E, Pope HG, Kessler RC. The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the NCS Replication. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;61:348–358. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neuroscience Biobehav R. 2008;32:20–39. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Johnson PM, Kenny PJ. Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats. Nature Neurosci. 2010;13:635–641. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang G-J, Volkow ND, Logan J, Pappas NR, Wong CT, Zhu W, et al. Brain dopamine and obesity. Lancet. 2010;357:354–357. - PubMed

Publication types