Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33550576›Full record

Observational studyEating and weight disorders : EWD2021

Validation of the dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children 2.0 and estimation of the weighted food addiction score in a sample of adolescents from the general population.

Christina Horsager, Emil Færk, Ashley N Gearhardt, Søren Dinesen Østergaard, Marlene Briciet Lauritsen

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A meta-analysis assessing reliability of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: Implications for compulsive eating and obesity.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Pooled it
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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 at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Christina HorsagerResearch Unit for Child- and Adolescents Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark. christina.pedersen@rn.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6304-361X
Emil FærkResearch Unit for Child- and Adolescents Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark.
Ashley N GearhardtUniversity of Michigan, Psychology, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Søren Dinesen ØstergaardDepartment of Affective Disorders, Aarhus University Hospital, Psychiatry, Aarhus, Denmark.
Marlene Briciet LauritsenResearch Unit for Child- and Adolescents Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark.
Aalborg University Hospital · DKAarhus University · DKUniversity of Michigan · US

Funding

Beckett-Fonden 17-0-0822Det Frie Forskningsråd 7016-00048Fonden til Lægevidenskabens Fremme 17-L-0013Lundbeckfonden R344-2020-1073Lundbeckfonden R358-2020-2341Novo Nordisk Fonden NNF20SA0062874
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeObesity among adolescents is becoming increasingly prevalent and "food addiction" (addiction-like attraction to foods with high content of fat and refined carbohydrates) may be a potential contributor to this development. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the dimensional Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children version 2.0 (dYFAS-C 2.0) and to estimate the weighted mean score on the dYFAS-C 2.0 (as a measure of food addiction symptom load) among adolescents from the general Danish population.

methodsA total of 3,750 adolescents aged 13-17 were randomly drawn from the general Danish population and invited to participate in a web-based survey. Data on health and socioeconomic factors from the Danish registers were linked to both respondents and non-respondents, which allowed for analysis of attrition. The total- and sex-stratified weighted mean dYFAS-C 2.0 scores were estimated using augmented inverse probability weighted estimation.

resultsA total of n = 576 (15.4%) adolescents participated in survey of whom 55.6% were female. The confirmatory factor analysis of the dYFAS-C 2.0 supported a one-factor model. The dYFAS-C 2.0 total score was associated with eating pathology, BMI z-scores, and ADHD symptomatology. The weighted mean dYFAS-C 2.0 score was 12.1 (95% CI: 11.2;12.9), 15.0 (95% CI: 13.9;16.2) for females and 9.5 (95% CI: 8.3;10.6) for males.

conclusionsThe dYFAS-C 2.0 appears to be a psychometrically valid tool to assess symptoms of food addiction among adolescents. Food addiction symptom severity correlated positively with eating pathology (including restrained eating), BMI z-scores, and ADHD symptomatology. Level IV, observational cross-sectional descriptive study combined with retrospective register data.

Indexed as

Food AddictionAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesFeeding BehaviorFemaleHumansMalePsychiatric Status Rating ScalesPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsRetrospective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesAdolescentsEpidemiologyFood addictionGeneral populationObesityPsychometricsSurveys and questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID33550576
OpenAlexW3128218049

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.