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Is food addiction a predictor of treatment outcome among patients with eating disorder?
Author(s) -
Romero Xandra,
Agüera Zaida,
Granero Roser,
Sánchez Isabel,
Riesco Nadine,
JiménezMurcia Susana,
GisbertRodriguez Montserrat,
SánchezGonzález Jéssica,
Casalé Gemma,
Baenas Isabel,
ValencianoMendoza Eduardo,
Menchon Jose M.,
Gearhardt Ashley N.,
Dieguez Carlos,
FernándezAranda Fernando
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european eating disorders review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.511
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1099-0968
pISSN - 1072-4133
DOI - 10.1002/erv.2705
Subject(s) - bulimia nervosa , binge eating disorder , food addiction , psychopathology , eating disorders , binge eating , psychiatry , psychology , clinical psychology , addiction , comorbidity , medicine
Objectives The study aimed to examine whether food addiction (FA) was associated with greater severity in both binge eating disorders (BED) and bulimia nervosa and, therefore, to determine if FA was predictive of treatment outcome. Method Seventy‐one adult patients with bulimia nervosa and BED (42 and 29, respectively) participated in the study. FA was assessed by means of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Results The results confirmed a high prevalence of FA in patients with binge disorders (around 87%) and also its association with a greater severity of the disorder (i.e., related to an increased eating psychopathology and greater frequency of binge eating episodes). Although FA did not appear as a predictor of treatment outcome in general terms, when the diagnostic subtypes were considered separately, FA was associated with poor prognosis in the BED group. In this vein, FA appeared as a mediator in the relationship between ED severity and treatment outcome. Discussions Our findings suggest that FA may act as an indicator of ED severity, and it would be a predictor of treatment outcome in BED but not in BN.