Food addiction (FA) has been found to correlate with personality traits and psychosocial factors (Zhao et al., 2018). However, the vast majority of studies on this subject use the variable-oriented approach, which assumes that relationships between specific variables are identical in a given population (Collins & Lanza, 2010).

The main aim of this study was to assess the heterogeneity of young adults with respect to food addiction, personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness and emotional stability) and loneliness. The secondary aim was to examine the relationships between profile membership and well-being.

The sample consisted of 1,157 young adults (58.1% women). The Yale Food Addiction Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory and the Short Loneliness Scale were used in the present study. Various aspects of well-being were included (e.g. quality of life). Latent Profile Analysis was performed twice: in the full sample, and in the subsample of individuals with increased FA (defined as z-score ≥ 1; n = 213).

Four profiles were identified both in the full sample and in the subsample. The best functioning was observed in individuals who scored high on extraversion and low on loneliness, despite their relatively high levels of FA. Young adults who scored high on FA and loneliness, and low on extraversion, conscientiousness and emotional stability, were more likely to have the worst functioning.

Our findings suggest that using the person-oriented approach may expand our knowledge on the role of personality traits and psychosocial factors in determining the effects of FA on well-being.

No significant relationships.

The concept of food addiction emerged recently due to the similarities between food overconsumption patterns and addictive drugs. This concept is not yet included into ICD or DSM as it still needs to be further investigated. Relationship between obesity and food consumption as well as the psychological indicators of food addiction are of particular interest.

To examine the prevalence of food addiction and its relationship to obesity, quality of life and multiple indicators of impulsivity.

Cross-sectional in-person assessment of 1432 community adults (age 38.93+/-13.7; 58% female). Measurements: Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0, anthropometrics, body composition, World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, and impulsivity measures including impulsive personality traits, delay discounting, and behavioral inhibition.

The prevalence of food addiction was 9.3% and substantially below that of obesity (32.7%). Food addiction was more prevalent among obese individuals and also was associated with higher BMI among non-obese participants. It was associated with significantly lower quality of life in all domains, and significantly higher impulsive personality traits, particularly negative and positive urgency.

In this general community sample, food addiction was present in slightly fewer than 1 in 10 individuals, approximately one-third the prevalence of obesity, but notably the food addiction has been mostly represented within the subsample of obese individuals. Food addiction was robustly associated with substantively lower quality of life and elevations in impulsivity, particularly in deficits in emotional regulation. These data suggest food addiction may be thought of as a subtype of obesity and, in non-obese individuals, possibly a prodrome.

No significant relationships.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationships between food addiction (FA), anthropometric characteristics and academic performance.

The average age (sd) of the participants was 17·5 (sd 2·7) years (64·1 % female). Each study participant indicated their sex, height, weight and academic performance and completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale.

Syktyvkar, Kirov, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Russia; Aizawl, India.

The study involved 3426 people.

FA was found in 8·7 % of participants from Russia and 14·6 % from India. In schoolchildren but not in university students, high academic performance was associated with a higher incidence rate of FA detection (OR = 1·16, 95 % CI 1·07, 1·26) and a lower BMI (OR = 0·72, 95 % CI 0·56, 0·94).

These data showed an increased incidence rate of FA detection in adolescents with high academic performance.

The development of a second version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) coincides with the latest updates in the diagnosis of addiction as documented in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The objective of the present study was to translate the YFAS 2.0 into the Malay language and test its psychometric properties in a primary-care population.

Patients were assessed for food addiction utilizing the Malay YFAS 2.0. The participants were also assessed for eating disorder using the validated Malay Binge Eating Scale. The psychometric properties of the YFAS 2.0 were determined by analysing factor structure, overall item statistics, internal consistency and construct validity.

Between 2017 and 2018, participants were chosen from a regional primary-care clinic in the district of Seremban, Malaysia.

Patients (n 382) from a regional primary-care clinic.

The prevalence of food addiction was 5·0%. A two-factor structure of the YFAS was confirmed as the most optimal solution for the scale via confirmatory factor analysis. In both its diagnostic and symptom count version, the YFAS 2.0 had good internal consistency (Kuder–Richardson α > 0·80 and McDonald’s ω > 0·9).

We validated a psychometrically sound Malay version of the YFAS 2.0 in a primary-care population. Both diagnostic and symptom count versions of the scale had robust psychometric properties. The questionnaire can be used to develop health promotion strategies to detect food addiction tendencies in a general population.

Obesity represents a tremendous global health problem. Studies over the past decade have suggested that food addiction (FA), that is, physical cravings for certain foods – high in fat/sugar – and addiction-like overeating of these types of food, is a likely contributor to the obesity epidemic. While FA has been studied extensively, there are some significant gaps in the literature that need to be addressed: (I) Most estimates of the prevalence of FA are based on nonprobability sampling, which significantly limits the representativeness of the prevalence estimates. (II) Although addiction disorders are prevalent among individuals with mental disorders, large studies of FA among patients with clinically diagnosed mental disorders are lacking. (III) Most addiction disorders are heritable, but the familial transmission of FA remains virtually unknown. (IV) Due to a relative lack of longitudinal studies, little is known about the risk factors for and outcomes of FA. To close these gaps in the literature, we designed the Food Addiction Denmark (FADK) Project.

The FADK study is a nationwide survey with retrospective and prospective register-based elements. Four randomly sampled cohorts were invited to participate in the survey: 5000 adults and 3750 adolescents from the general population and 5000 adults and 3529 adolescents with a mental disorder. The FADK questionnaire includes the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 and rating scales measuring psychopathology. Data from Danish health and socio-economic registers will be linked to all invitees.

We expect that the FADK Project will contribute significantly to our understanding of FA.