Food addiction and its relationship with other eating behaviours among Spanish university students

Tamara Escrivá-Martínez; Laura Galiana; Rocío Herrero; Marta Rodríguez-Arias; Fernando Fernández-Aranda; Ashley N Gearhardt; Rosa M Baños

doi:10.1186/s40337-023-00772-5

Food addiction and its relationship with other eating behaviours among Spanish university students

J Eat Disord. 2023 Apr 12;11(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00772-5.

Authors

Tamara Escrivá-Martínez^{1

2

3}, Laura Galiana⁴, Rocío Herrero^{5

6}, Marta Rodríguez-Arias⁷, Fernando Fernández-Aranda^{5

8

9}, Ashley N Gearhardt¹⁰, Rosa M Baños^{11

12

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010, Valencia, Spain. tamara.escriva@uv.es.
² Polibienestar Research Institute, University of Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain. tamara.escriva@uv.es.
³ CIBERObn Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain. tamara.escriva@uv.es.
⁴ Department of Methodology for the Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
⁵ CIBERObn Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, 44003, Teruel, Spain.
⁷ Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 530 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
¹¹ Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
¹² Polibienestar Research Institute, University of Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.

Abstract

Background: Food addiction (FA) is characterised by symptoms such as loss of control over food consumption, inability to reduce consumption despite the desire to do so, and continued consumption despite negative consequences. The modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) is a widely used instrument to assess FA.

Objectives: To validate the Spanish mYFAS 2.0; to analyse the relationships between FA with other eating behaviours, sociodemographic variables, and Body Mass Index (BMI); and to test the eating-related variables that account for the variance in FA.

Methods: The sample consisted of 400 university students (M_age = 24.16, SD_age = 6.12; 51% female), who completed the mYFAS 2.0 and measures of eating-related constructs.

Results: A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the one-factor structure of the mYFAS 2.0. The scale showed good internal consistency (α = .78), and good convergent validity with the mYFAS. FA was related to eating styles, binge eating, and bulimia. No differences in FA were observed between males and females, and there was no association between FA and BMI. In addition, younger participants scored higher on FA than older participants. The eating-related variables explain 54.7% of the variance in FA.

Conclusions: The mYFAS 2.0 is a valid and reliable scale to assess FA in the Spanish population. The positive and significant relationship of variables related to eating (eating styles, binge eating and bulimia) with FA was demonstrated. These variables were indicated by those at high risk of FA.

Keywords: Binge eating; Body Mass Index; Bulimia; Convergent validity; Eating styles; Food addiction; Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0; Psychometric properties; Spanish validation.