ArticlePloS one2013
Food addiction: its prevalence and significant association with obesity in the general population.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
130 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 329 citations in OpenAlex.
- The prognostic role of food addiction for weight loss treatment outcomes in individuals with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Bariatric-Metabolic Surgery is the Most Effective Intervention in Reducing Food Addiction Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity surgery · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Substance and Food Craving: What Effect Do Modulators Have?Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Application And Correlates of YFAS-Diagnosed 'Food Addiction' in Humans: Are Eating-Related 'Addictions' a Cause for Concern or Empty Concepts?Obesity facts · 2015Pooled it
- The prevalence of food addiction as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale: a systematic review.Nutrients · 2014Pooled it
- Trial
- Alterations in reward network functional connectivity are associated with increased food addiction in obese individuals.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- A biopsychosocial perspective on obesity and eating disorders: A narrative overview and exploratory study of ghrelin, LEAP2, trait impulsivity, and eating psychopathology.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- Prevalence of food addiction and its association with ghrelin and metabolic parameters in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study.BMC endocrine disorders · 2026Article
- Unhealthy food bias in food addiction: behavioral evidence from a probabilistic image choice task.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Sex as a moderator of the relationship between food addiction and body mass index in young non-help-seeking adults at risk for psychosis and controls.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2026Article
- Environmental Influences on Food Addiction and Cardiometabolic Profiles in Law Enforcement Officers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food addiction in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the USA.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Systemic inflammation and metabolic syndrome components in threshold/subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder and food addiction in a Polish community sample.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- Understanding food addiction through the lens of psychological well-being, self-control, and eating behavior: a cross-sectional study.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- A Longitudinal Examination of the Mediating Role of Body Dissatisfaction in the Relationship Between Pornography Use Frequency and Eating Disturbances: A Cross-Lagged Mediation Model.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Altered asymmetry of amygdala volume mediates food addiction and weight gain.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Cannabinoid type-1 receptors in CaMKII neurons drive impulsivity in pathological eating behavior.Molecular metabolism · 2025Article
- Six-year follow-up of an abstinence-based, food addiction recovery approach to weight management.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
70 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
background'Food addiction' shares a similar neurobiological and behavioral framework with substance addiction. However whether, and to what degree, 'food addiction' contributes to obesity in the general population is unknown.
objectivesto assess 1) the prevalence of 'food addiction' in the Newfoundland population; 2) if clinical symptom counts of 'food addiction' were significantly correlated with the body composition measurements; 3) if food addicts were significantly more obese than controls, and 4) if macronutrient intakes are associated with 'food addiction'.
designA total of 652 adults (415 women, 237 men) recruited from the general population participated in this study. Obesity was evaluated by Body Mass Index (BMI) and Body Fat percentage measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. 'Food addiction' was assessed using the Yale Food Addiction Scale and macronutrient intake was determined from the Willet Food Frequency Questionnaire.
resultsThe prevalence of 'food addiction' was 5.4% (6.7% in females and 3.0% in males) and increased with obesity status. The clinical symptom counts of 'food addiction' were positively correlated with all body composition measurements across the entire sample (p<0.001). Obesity measurements were significantly higher in food addicts than controls; Food addicts were 11.7 (kg) heavier, 4.6 BMI units higher, and had 8.2% more body fat and 8.5% more trunk fat. Furthermore, food addicts consumed more calories from fat and protein compared with controls.
conclusionOur results demonstrated that 'food addiction' contributes to severity of obesity and body composition measurements from normal weight to obese individuals in the general population with higher rate in women as compared to men.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.