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Food Addiction and Its Impact on Weight-Based Stigma and the Treatment of Obese Individuals in the U.S. and Australia

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TLDR
Despite significant support for a “food addiction” explanation of obesity, participants still valued personal responsibility in overcoming obesity and did not support coercive approaches to treat their “addiction”.
Abstract
It is argued that food addiction explanations of obesity may reduce the significant stigma levelled at obese and overweight individuals. We surveyed 479 adults to determine the prevalence of food addiction in the U.S. (n = 215) and, for the first time, in Australia (n = 264) using the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). We also assessed the level of weight-based stigma in this population. The prevalence of food addiction in our Australian sample was 11%, similar to U.S. participants and consistent with previous studies. Those who met criteria for diagnosis had a larger mean BMI (33.8 kg/m2) than those who did not (26.5 kg/m2). Overall, the level of stigma towards others was low and differed significantly based on BMI, predominately among normal weight and obese participants (p = 0.0036). Obese individuals scored higher on certain measures of stigma, possibly reflecting individual experiences of stigma rather than negative attitudes towards other obese individuals (p = 0.0091). Despite significant support for a “food addiction” explanation of obesity, participants still valued personal responsibility in overcoming obesity and did not support coercive approaches to treat their “addiction”.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Impact of weight stigma on physiological and psychological health outcomes for overweight and obese adults: A systematic review.

TL;DR: Weight stigma was positively associated with obesity, diabetes risk, cortisol level, oxidative stress level, C-reactive protein level, eating disturbances, depression, anxiety, body image dissatisfaction and negatively associated with self-esteem among overweight and obese adults.
Journal ArticleDOI

The neurobiology of "food addiction" and its implications for obesity treatment and policy

TL;DR: It is argued that the use of food addiction as a diagnostic category is premature and the potential positive and negative clinical, social, and public policy implications of describing obesity as a food addiction that require further investigation.
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Food addiction and associations with mental health symptoms: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

TL;DR: A significant, positive relationship exists between food addiction and mental health symptoms, although the results of the present study highlight the complexity of this relationship.
Journal ArticleDOI

A commentary on the "eating addiction" versus "food addiction" perspectives on addictive-like food consumption.

TL;DR: This manuscript will discuss behavioral components characteristic of all substance-use disorders, preliminary evidence to suggest that all foods are not equally associated with addictive-like eating, and key differences between the hypothesized eating addiction phenotype and the only existing behavioral addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), gambling disorder.
Journal ArticleDOI

Foods and dietary profiles associated with ‘food addiction’ in young adults

TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate in young adults whether intake of specific foods are associated with food addiction, as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), and describe the associated nutrient intake profiles.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self‐report questionnaire?

TL;DR: Although the two measures performed similarly with respect to the assessment of unambiguous behavioral features such as self-induced vomiting and dieting, the self-report questionnaire generated higher scores than the interview when assessing more complex featuressuch as binge eating and concerns about shape.
Journal ArticleDOI

The stigma of obesity: a review and update.

TL;DR: This review expands upon previous findings of weight bias in major domains of living, documents new areas where weight bias has been studied, and highlights ongoing research questions that need to be addressed to advance this field of study.
Journal ArticleDOI

Obesity Stigma: Important Considerations for Public Health

TL;DR: It is proposed that weight stigma is not a beneficial public health tool for reducing obesity, but rather, stigmatization of obese individuals threatens health, generates health disparities, and interferes with effective obesity intervention efforts.
Journal ArticleDOI

Prejudice against fat people: ideology and self-interest.

TL;DR: Fatism appears to behave much like symbolic racism, but with less of the negative social desirability of racism, and three commonalities between antifat attitudes and racism were explored.
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