Yale Food Addiction Scale Explained

The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is a 25-point questionnaire, based on DSM-IV codes for substance dependence criteria, to assess food addiction in individuals. The scale was released in 2009 by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.[1]

It was found that the brain mechanisms in people with food addiction were similar to those in people with substance dependence, such as drug addicts.[2] While there is currently no official diagnosis of "food addiction", the YFAS was created to identify persons who exhibited symptoms of dependency towards certain food. Foods most notably identified by YFAS to cause food addiction were those high in fat and high in sugar. A self-reported standardized tool was created by a Yale researcher, Ashley Gearhardt, to determine those individuals at high risk for food addiction, regardless of weight.

Food addiction

See also: Compulsive overeating. The term food addiction remains a controversial topic. The concept of food addiction addresses a person's behavioral and neurophysiological changes with certain foods that closely resemble findings found in persons with substance dependence. The term became especially popular in the second half of the twentieth century, driven by the "obesity epidemic".[3] Earlier studies suggest that food addiction, similar to that of drug addiction, mainly exert their actions through the dopamine and opiate pathways.[4] Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) subjects regardless of body mass index (BMI), with high food addiction score compared to those with lower scores, showed significant differences in brain activity. Furthermore, a study conducted by the Scripps Research Institute found that rats fed a high-fat palatable diet for extended periods, overstimulated the brain's reward system, similar to brain activity in drug addiction.[5]

Development

To address the need for a standardized tool to identify persons with food addiction behaviors, psychologist Ashley Gearhardt, along with her colleagues William R. Corbin and Kelly D. Brownell, developed the Yale Food Addiction Scale while completing her graduate research at Yale University as a clinical psychology doctoral student. Gearhardt and colleagues formatted their questionnaire to be based upon content of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV "text revision" for substance dependence and was reviewed by experts in the fields of addiction, obesity, and eating pathology for revision.

Content

YFAS contains 25 self-reported questions in dichotomous and Likert-type format. In the original scale, two items were included to determine the foods that triggered dependence. When filling out the questionnaire, subjects are asked to refer to the past 12 months of behaviors.[6] The questions fall under seven specific substance dependence criteria as defined by the DSM-IV, as well as clinically significant impairment. The seven criteria per the instruction sheet for the YFAS are:

  1. Substance taken in larger amount and for longer period than intended.
  2. Persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempt to quit.
  3. Much time/activity to obtain, use, recover,
  4. Important social, occupational, or recreation activities given up or reduced.
  5. Use continues despite knowledge of adverse consequences (e.g., failure to fulfill role obligation, use when physically hazardous).
  6. Tolerance (marked increase in amount; marked decrease in effect).
  7. Characteristic withdrawal symptoms; substance taken to relieve withdrawal.

Food addiction is recognized when an individual meets at least three of the above symptom criteria and scores for clinically significant impairment or distress.

Foods emphasized

The YFAS survey identified certain foods that were likely to trigger dependence symptoms. These foods correlate with the high-fat, high-sugar foods selected in prior food addiction studies, however, the survey subject is instructed to think of any foods or food groups that cause positive symptoms identified in the questionnaire. The YFAS questionnaire lists the following foods:

Modified scales

A shortened YFAS consisting of only nine items was proposed in 2014 which had similar prevalence rates as the 25-item YFAS. To address the role food addiction plays in children, the original adult YFAS was adjusted. The Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children (YFAS-C) includes more age-appropriate activities, a lowered reading level, and a new scoring threshold.[8]

A 35-item revised version of the YFAS (the YFAS 2.0) was published in 2016, reflecting the changes in the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence in the DSM-5.[9] Although the YFAS and YFAS 2.0 substantially differ in terms of the number of items, response categories, item wordings, and scoring, it has been reported than prevalence rates and correlates of food addiction as measured with the YFAS 2.0 are largely similar to those with the YFAS.[10] Similar to the YFAS, there is also a short version of the YFAS 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) and a version for children (YFAS-C 2.0).[11] [12]

Translated versions

The YFAS has been translated into several languages such as German,[13] French,[14] Italian,[15] Spanish,[16] Portuguese,[17] and Chinese.[18] Similarly, the YFAS 2.0 has been translated into several languages such as German,[19] French,[20] Italian,[21] Turkish,[22] Spanish,[23] Korean,[24] Arabic,[25] Japanese,[26] Malay,[27] Chinese,[28] Persian,[29] and Portuguese.[30]

Limitations

Incidence of scores positive for food addiction were higher in overweight and obese patients. However, the correlation between YFAS scores and BMI is small and there seems to be a non-linear relationship between the two when considering the entire body weight spectrum from underweight to severe obesity.[31] Previous studies have shown mixed results mainly due to limited sample size, concurrent eating disorders, and lack of clinical controls.

Five years after development of YFAS, Gearhardt and Adrian Meule summarized its utilization in research studies and its limitations. Gearhardt and Meule concluded:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Welcome to Yale University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences . www.yale.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110926120147/http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/publications/news/201109/gearhardt-food-addiction.html . 2011-09-26.
  2. Meule, Adrian, and Ashley N. Gearhardt. "Five years of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: Taking stock and moving forward." Current Addiction Reports 1.3(2014): 193-205. Print.
  3. Corwin, R. L., and P. S. Grigson. "Symposium Overview—Food Addiction: Fact Or Fiction?." Journal of Nutrition 139(2009): 617–619. Print
  4. Gearhardt, AN, Corbin, WR, and Brownell, KD. "Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale." Appetite 52(2009): 430–436. Print.
  5. Johnson, Paul M, and Kenny, Paul J. "Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats." Nature Neuroscience 13 (2010): 635–641. nature neuroscience. Web. 18 July 2014. http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v13/n5/full/nn.2519.html
  6. Web site: Home - UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. August 28, 2016.
  7. Web site: Home - UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. August 28, 2016.
  8. Gearhardt, Ashley N, Roberto, Christina A., Seamans, Marissa J., Corbin, William R., Brownell, Kelly D.. "Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale for children." Eating Behaviors 14 (2013): 508–512. Print.
  9. Gearhardt . Ashley N. . Corbin . William R. . Brownell . Kelly D. . February 2016 . Development of the Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0. . Psychology of Addictive Behaviors . en . 30 . 1 . 113–121 . 10.1037/adb0000136 . 26866783 . 1939-1501.
  10. Meule . Adrian . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . 2019-09-01 . Ten Years of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: a Review of Version 2.0 . Current Addiction Reports . en . 6 . 3 . 218–228 . 10.1007/s40429-019-00261-3 . 195242182 . 2196-2952.
  11. Schulte . Erica M. . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . July 2017 . Development of the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0: Development of the mYFAS 2.0 . European Eating Disorders Review . en . 25 . 4 . 302–308 . 10.1002/erv.2515. 28370722 . 2027.42/137291 . 32651196 . free .
  12. Schiestl . Emma T. . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . November 2018 . Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0: A dimensional approach to scoring . European Eating Disorders Review . en . 26 . 6 . 605–617 . 10.1002/erv.2648 . 6231957 . 30334311.
  13. Meule . Adrian . Vögele . Claus . Kübler . Andrea . July 2012 . Deutsche Übersetzung und Validierung der Yale Food Addiction Scale . Diagnostica . 58 . 3 . 115–126 . 10.1026/0012-1924/a000047 . 0012-1924.
  14. Brunault . Paul . Ballon . Nicolas . Gaillard . Philippe . Réveillère . Christian . Courtois . Robert . May 2014 . Validation of the French Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: An Examination of its Factor Structure, Reliability, and Construct Validity in a Nonclinical Sample . The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry . en . 59 . 5 . 276–284 . 10.1177/070674371405900507 . 0706-7437 . 4079141 . 25007281.
  15. Innamorati . Marco . Imperatori . Claudio . Manzoni . Gian Mauro . Lamis . Dorian A. . Castelnuovo . Gianluca . Tamburello . Antonino . Tamburello . Stella . Fabbricatore . Mariantonietta . 2015-03-01 . Psychometric properties of the Italian Yale Food Addiction Scale in overweight and obese patients . Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity . en . 20 . 1 . 119–127 . 10.1007/s40519-014-0142-3 . 25069837 . 41402420 . 1590-1262.
  16. Granero . Roser . Hilker . Ines . Agüera . Zaida . Jiménez-Murcia . Susana . Sauchelli . Sarah . Islam . Mohammed A. . Fagundo . Ana B. . Sánchez . Isabel . Riesco . Nadine . Dieguez . Carlos . Soriano . José . Salcedo-Sánchez . Cristina . Casanueva . Felipe F. . De la Torre . Rafael . Menchón . José M. . November 2014 . Food Addiction in a Spanish Sample of Eating Disorders: DSM-5 Diagnostic Subtype Differentiation and Validation Data: Food Addiction and ED Subtypes . European Eating Disorders Review . en . 22 . 6 . 389–396 . 10.1002/erv.2311. 25139680 . 2027.42/109343 . free .
  17. Torres . Sandra . Camacho . Marta . Costa . Patrício . Ribeiro . Gabriela . Santos . Osvaldo . Vieira . Filipa Mucha . Brandão . Isabel . Sampaio . Daniel . Oliveira-Maia . Albino J. . 2017-06-01 . Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale . Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity . en . 22 . 2 . 259–267 . 10.1007/s40519-016-0349-6 . 28101831 . 1822/51677 . 4404186 . 1590-1262. free .
  18. Chen . Gui . Tang . Zhaoli . Guo . Guiping . Liu . Xiaoqun . Xiao . Shuiyuan . 2015-08-01 . The Chinese version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: An examination of its validation in a sample of female adolescents . Eating Behaviors . en . 18 . 97–102 . 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.002 . 26026613 . 1471-0153.
  19. Meule . Adrian . Müller . Astrid . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . Blechert . Jens . 2017-08-01 . German version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0: Prevalence and correlates of 'food addiction' in students and obese individuals . Appetite . Current Developments in Food-Addiction Research . en . 115 . 54–61 . 10.1016/j.appet.2016.10.003 . 27717658 . 3655178 . 0195-6663.
  20. Brunault . Paul . Courtois . Robert . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . Gaillard . Philippe . Journiac . Kevin . Cathelain . Sarah . Réveillère . Christian . Ballon . Nicolas . March 2017 . Validation of the French Version of the DSM-5 Yale Food Addiction Scale in a Nonclinical Sample . The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry . en . 62 . 3 . 199–210 . 10.1177/0706743716673320 . 0706-7437 . 5317020 . 28212499.
  21. Aloi . Matteo . Rania . Marianna . Rodríguez Muñoz . Rita Cristina . Jiménez Murcia . Susana . Fernández-Aranda . Fernando . De Fazio . Pasquale . Segura-Garcia . Cristina . 2017-09-01 . Validation of the Italian version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (I-YFAS 2.0) in a sample of undergraduate students . Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity . en . 22 . 3 . 527–533 . 10.1007/s40519-017-0421-x . 28780748 . 23332325 . 1590-1262.
  22. Şengüzel . Esra . Öztora . Serdar . Dağdevi̇ren . Hamdi̇ Nezi̇h . 2018 . Internal Reliability Analysis of the Turkish Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale . Eurasian Journal of Family Medicine . 7 . 1 . 14–18 . 2147-3161.
  23. Granero . Roser . Jiménez-Murcia . Susana . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . Agüera . Zaida . Aymamí . Neus . Gómez-Peña . Mónica . Lozano-Madrid . María . Mallorquí-Bagué . Núria . Mestre-Bach . Gemma . Neto-Antao . Maria I. . Riesco . Nadine . Sánchez . Isabel . Steward . Trevor . Soriano-Mas . Carles . Vintró-Alcaraz . Cristina . 2018 . Validation of the Spanish Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) and Clinical Correlates in a Sample of Eating Disorder, Gambling Disorder, and Healthy Control Participants . Frontiers in Psychiatry . 9 . 208 . 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00208 . 1664-0640 . 5980980 . 29887808 . free .
  24. 신성만 . 조요한 . 박명준 . 윤지혜 . 고은정 . March 2018 . A Development and Validation of the Korean Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 . The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology . en . 23 . 1 . 25–49 . 10.18205/kpa.2018.23.1.002 . 1229-0726. free .
  25. Fawzi . Mounir . Fawzi . Mohab . 2018-08-01 . Validation of an Arabic version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 . Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal . 24 . 8 . 745–752 . 10.26719/2018.24.8.745. 30328605 . 53141386 .
  26. Khine . May Thet . Ota . Atsuhiko . Gearhardt . Ashley N. . Fujisawa . Akiko . Morita . Mamiko . Minagawa . Atsuko . Li . Yuanying . Naito . Hisao . Yatsuya . Hiroshi . March 2019 . Validation of the Japanese Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (J-YFAS 2.0) . Nutrients . en . 11 . 3 . 687 . 10.3390/nu11030687 . 2072-6643 . 6471687 . 30909486 . free .
  27. Swarna Nantha . Yogarabindranath . Kalasivan . Ahalya . Ponnusamy Pillai . Mahalakshmi . Suppiah . Poopathy . Md Sharif . Salmiah . Krishnan . Shamini Gayathri . Samy Pullay . Subasni . Osman . Noor Ashikin . February 2020 . The validation of the Malay Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0: factor structure, item analysis and model fit . Public Health Nutrition . en . 23 . 3 . 402–409 . 10.1017/S1368980019002684 . 1368-9800 . 10200618 . 31538554.
  28. Chen . I-Hua . Huang . Po-Ching . Lin . Yi-Ching . Gan . Wan Ying . Fan . Chia-Wei . Yang . Wen-Chi . Tung . Serene En Hui . Poon . Wai Chuen . Griffiths . Mark D. . Lin . Chung-Ying . 2022 . The Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 and the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 in Taiwan: Factor structure and concurrent validity . Frontiers in Psychiatry . 13 . 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1014447 . 1664-0640 . 9732099 . 36506452 . free .
  29. Ghanbari . Nikzad . Nooripour . Roghieh . Firoozabadi . Abbas . Var . Tabassom Saeid Par . Wisniewski . Pamela . Hosseini . Seyed Ruhollah . 2022-11-10 . Psychometric assessment of Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students . Journal of Eating Disorders . 10 . 1 . 158 . 10.1186/s40337-022-00689-5 . 2050-2974 . 9650813 . 36357951 . free .
  30. Gonçalves . Sónia . Moreira . Célia S. . Machado . Bárbara C. . Bastos . Beatriz . Vieira . Ana Isabel . 2022-03-01 . Psychometric properties and convergent and divergent validity of the Portuguese Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (P-YFAS 2.0) . Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity . en . 27 . 2 . 791–801 . 10.1007/s40519-021-01218-0 . 34053016 . 235244672 . 1590-1262.
  31. Meule . Adrian . 2012-10-01 . Food addiction and body-mass-index: A non-linear relationship . Medical Hypotheses . en . 79 . 4 . 508–511 . 10.1016/j.mehy.2012.07.005 . 22854106 . 0306-9877.

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