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. 2019 Apr;42(2):246-255.
doi: 10.1007/s10865-018-9958-z. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Effects of addictive-like eating behaviors on weight loss with behavioral obesity treatment

Ariana M Chao  1   2 , Thomas A Wadden  3 , Jena Shaw Tronieri  3 , Rebecca L Pearl  3 , Naji Alamuddin  3   4 , Zayna M Bakizada  3 , Emilie Pinkasavage  3 , Sharon M Leonard  3 , Nasreen Alfaris  3   4   5 , Robert I Berkowitz  3   6
Affiliations

Effects of addictive-like eating behaviors on weight loss with behavioral obesity treatment

Ariana M Chao et al. J Behav Med. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

To examine the relationship between food cravings and food addiction as defined by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and to assess the effects of these variables on weight loss during a 14-week group lifestyle modification program. Data were from 178 participants who were prescribed a 1000-1200 kcal/day portion-controlled diet and provided with weekly group lifestyle modification sessions. Participants completed the Food Craving Inventory and YFAS pre- and post-treatment. Weight was measured weekly. Participants with YFAS-defined food addiction (6.7%) reported more frequent overall food cravings relative to those without food addiction. More frequent food cravings at baseline were associated with less weight loss over the 14 weeks. Analyzed categorically, participants in the highest tertile of baseline food cravings lost 7.6 ± 0.5% of initial weight, which was significantly less compared to those in the lowest tertile who lost 9.1 ± 0.5%. Percent weight loss did not differ significantly between participants with YFAS-defined food addiction (6.5 ± 1.2%) and those who did not meet criteria (8.6 ± 0.3%). Addictive-like eating behaviors significantly declined from pre- to post-treatment. Participants with frequent food cravings lost less weight than their peers. Targeted interventions for food cravings could improve weight loss in these individuals. Few participants met YFAS-defined criteria for food addiction. Addictive-like eating behaviors tended to decline during behavioral weight loss, but neither baseline nor change in YFAS scores predicted weight loss.

Keywords: Cravings; Food addiction; Obesity; Treatment; Weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: TAW reports receiving personal fees for serving on advisory boards for Novo Nordisk, and Weight Watchers and has received grant support on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania from Eisai Pharmaceutical and Novo Nordisk. TAW and AMC have received grant support on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania from Shire Pharmaceuticals. JST discloses serving as a consultant for Novo Nordisk. RLP discloses serving as a consultant for Weight Watchers. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Mean±SD values for total food cravings and cravings for specific food types by food addiction status. Scores range from 1 (never) to 5 (always/almost every day).
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Percent weight loss estimates (mean±SE) at week 14 based on baseline food cravings. Results are from linear mixed models and adjusted for race, gender, age, and baseline BMI.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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