The relationship between food addiction in obesity and anxiety, impulsivity, depression, and emotion regulation difficulty

Abstract

We aimed to develop interventions that can prevent obesity and food addiction in the early period by investigating the relationship between food addiction and impulsivity, anxiety, depression, difficulties in emotion regulation, sociodemographic characteristics, exercise and diet behaviors. We included 88 consecutive patients with BMI ≥30 and above, aged between 18-65 years, who applied to the Obesity outpatient clinic and psychiatry outpatient clinic of "---" in 2022 in our study sample. Sociodemographic and Clinical Information Form, Yale Food Addiction Scale(YFAS), Beck Anxiety Inventory(BAI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Brief Form (DERS-16), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Beck's Depression Inventory(BDI) were applied to the patients. It was determined that 45 of 88 patients included in our study had food addiction according to the YFAS score, and 43 did not have a food addiction. There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of age and education level. Mean scale scores for BAI, DERS-16, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale were found to be significantly higher in the food addiction group than in the other group. The subscales of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale were evaluated separately, it was observed that the sub-scale scores of "motor impulsivity" and "attention impulsivity" were significantly higher in the food addiction group compared to the other group. Food addiction is seen at a higher rate in people with a lower average age and higher education level. Anxiety, impulsivity, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation correlate with food addiction.

Keywords

• food addiction
• impulsivity
• anxiety
• emotional dysregulation

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