Food Addiction: Association with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Impulsivity

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present research is to investigate food addiction and its relationship with ADHD symptoms and impulsivity in a non-clinical sample. Methods: Eight hundred and twenty-six (women: 532; men: 294) university students volunteered and took part in the study. Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) scales were applied to the participants and their anthropometric measurements were taken. Analyses were conducted using SPSS version 22. Results: 109 subjects were classified as food addicts. The food addict group significantly had higher Body Mass Index (BMI) (p <0.001). The subscore of inattentiveness, subscore of hyperactive/impulsiveness and total ASRS scores were significantly higher in food addicted group (p <0.001). BMI was greater in the food addiction and ADHD comorbidity group compared to the food addiction only group (X2=24.86; p=0.003). The lineer regression analysis revealed that the increased hyperactivity – impulsiveness measured by ASRS (ß=0,027), motor impulsiveness measured by BIS-11 (ß=0.030) and BMI (ß=0.037) found to be correlated with higher YFAS scores (F=10.384; p=0.000) when age and sex factors are controlled.) YFAS scores were statistically higher in potential ADHD group. (According to the ASRS cut-off score ≥24). Conclusion: Evaluation of the presence of ADHD might be an important issue in determining treatment for obesity in individuals with food addiction. The clinicians must be aware of the pitfalls associated with the comorbidity and consider screening patients with food addiction for ADHD.