Food addiction can scientifically contribute to the severity of obesity levels in the general population, with a higher rate of addiction possibly contributing to weight gain in women, a new study published by PLoS ONE has found.

It is thought food addiction shares a similar neurobiological and behavioural framework with substance addiction, though up until this point it has been unknown to what degree suspected food addiction can contribute to obesity statistics in the wider population.

To conduct their research scientists from the Faculty of Medicine at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada recruited 652 adults (415 women and 237 men) to take part in the study.

Using BMI and body fat (BF) percentages, as well as the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) in combination with macronutrient intake determined from a Willet Food Frequency Questionnaire taken by participants, they were able to measure levels of food addication and obesity.

The researchers found that the prevalence of food addiction according to YFAS criteria was 5.4 per cent in the entire population of their study, with 6.7 per cent found in women and three per cent found in men.

When participants were classified as under or at a normal weight based on BMI, food addiction levels measured 1.6 per cent, whereas those who were classed as obese based on BMI displayed 7.7 per cent levels of addiction.

When taking BMI into consideration, the prevalence of food addiction was higher in women than in men. Additionally, overweight and obese women had a higher prevalence of food addiction levels when compared to overweight or obese men.

The scientists also conducted studies based on body fat classifications, with the under or normal weight band of participants experiencing a 2.9 per cent level of food addiction, while the obese produced levels of 6.8 per cent, showing that the percentage of food addiction levels significantly increased with rising obesity status.

It was also discovered that food addicts were on average 11.7kg heavier, 4.6 BMI units higher and had 8.2 per cent more body fat than those who were not addicted. Furthermore, it was found food addicts consumed more calories from fats and proteins.

“Food addiction contributes to human obesity and is significantly associated with the severity of obesity or amount of body fat from normal to obese individuals,” the study claims in its conclusions.

“Our findings provide strong evidence that ‘food addiction’ may represent a distinct aetiology of human obesity in the general population.”

A copy of the report is available from PLoS ONE here: http://lei.sr?a=z8P6L