Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28190017›Full record

ArticleObesity facts2017

Prevalence of 'Food Addiction' as Measured with the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 in a Representative German Sample and Its Association with Sex, Age and Weight Categories.

Carolin Hauck, Annegret Weiß, Erica Marla Schulte, Adrian Meule, Thomas Ellrott

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Obesity facts, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04666831 (Adapted Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Food Addiction), which is not on this map. Cited by 72 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
72citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04666831 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Adapted Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Food Addiction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorToronto Metropolitan UniversityRan2021 to 2023Enrolled94ConditionsFood Addiction, Binge EatingArmsAdapted Motivational Interviewing (AMI) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

72 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Food Addiction in Individuals With Overweight and Obesity Undergoing a 12-Week Long Tailored mHealth Weight Loss Intervention.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025
    Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Household income and food addiction symptoms predict ultra-processed foods intake in Brazilian university students: implications for policy.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Observational
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Carolin HauckInstitute for Nutrition and Psychology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Annegret Weiß
Erica Marla Schulte
Adrian Meule
Thomas Ellrott

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

aimsTo assess the prevalence and correlates of addictive-like eating behavior in Germany.

methodsThe German version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) 2.0 was used to investigate, for the first time, the prevalence of 'food addiction' in a representative sample aged 18-65 years (N = 1,034).

resultsThe prevalence of 'food addiction' measured by the YFAS 2.0 was 7.9%. Individuals meeting criteria for 'food addiction' had higher BMI and were younger than individuals not meeting the threshold. Underweight (15.0%) and obese (17.2%) individuals exhibited the highest prevalence rate of 'food addiction'. Addictive-like eating was not associated with sex, education level, or place of residence.

conclusionYFAS 2.0 'food addiction' was met by nearly 8% of the population. There is a non-linear relationship between addictive-like eating and BMI, with the highest prevalence among underweight and obese persons. These findings suggest that 'food addiction' may be a contributor to overeating but may also reflect a distinct phenotype of problematic eating behavior not synonymous with obesity. Further, the elevated prevalence of YFAS 2.0 'food addiction' among underweight individuals may reflect an overlap with eating disorders and warrants attention in future research.

Indexed as

Body WeightFoodAge FactorsBehavior, AddictiveBody Mass IndexFeeding and Eating DisordersFeeding BehaviorFemaleGermanyHumansHyperphagiaMaleMiddle AgedObesityPrevalenceSex Factors

Identifiers

PMID28190017
PMCPMC5644971

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.