Prevalence of food addiction among Iranian children and adolescents: Associations with sociodemographic and anthropometric indices

Abstract

Background: Food addiction has been defined as consuming palatable foods leading to addictive-like behaviors. Little studies have assayed food addiction in children and adolescents. Thus, we aimed at identifying the prevalence of food addiction and the relationship between food addiction, sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators among children and adolescents in southwestern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 222 elementary school students aged 7 to 13 years in Ahvaz, Iran, using a random sampling method. Sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators were obtained. The 25-item child version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS-C) was applied to provide food addiction diagnosis and symptoms. A nonparametric analysis was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of food addiction was 17.3%. Also, the most common symptoms associated with food addiction were (1) inability to cut down, (2) withdrawal, and (3) tolerance. The students with food addiction diagnosis were older than the undiagnosed (p=0.04). The males and students older than 8 years showed a higher food addiction score than females and students under 8 years (p<0.05). In females, significant positive correlations were found between anthropometric indicators, including body mass index and body mass index z-score, with food addiction score (p<0.01). Conclusion: Food addiction diagnosis was more prevalent in males and students over 8 years. Females with higher YFAS-C scores had elevated body mass index z-scores, suggesting that food addiction may be a remarkable problem in childhood and early adolescence and may also be related to a risk of overweight/obesity in Iranian students.

Prevalence of food addiction in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Kappa for the abstract review was 0.88 (95% CI; 0.77–0.98), and Kappa for the full text review was 0.92 (95% CI; 0.84–0.99). All 22 studies were cross‐sectional 24,28–48 . No longitudinal studies were identified in the search.…”

“…Prevalence of FA as determined using the YFAS‐C has been reported in 18 publications 24,28–32,34–39,41,42,45–48 (Table 2). The meta‐analysis estimated an overall FA prevalence at 15% (95% CI: 11–19%) among children and adolescents, with an I 2 of 95.64%.…”

“…Given limited information on the prevalence of FA among children and adolescents, the present systematic review and meta‐analysis assessed FA in this population. After identifying 22 studies 24,28–48 with a total of 6,996 participants, the prevalence of FA found in children and adolescents was relatively high (15%; 95% CI 11–19%). Moreover, the analyzed studies were published recently, with the earliest study published in 2013 25 and the remaining 21 studies published in the past 5 years 28–48 .…”

Validity of the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children (YFAS-C): Classical test theory and item response theory of the Persian YFAS-C

“…Several studies have examined the prevalence of FA in different populations using the criteria for substance dependence in the DSM-IV [e.g., [6][7][8]11]. Moreover, Gearhardt et al [9] developed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) for assessing FA based on the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence in the DSM-IV.…”

“…A major reason for the dearth of FA studies among Persian-speaking children and adolescents is the lack of a validated instrument for usage. Although one recent Iranian study translated the YFAS-C and applied the Persian YFAS-C to 222 elementary school students to assess FA [ 11 ], the study did not provide any psychometric evidence for the robustness translated YFAS-C. Researchers and healthcare providers may, therefore, hesitate to use the Persian YFAS-C because the psychometric properties are not known.…”