An exploratory study of food addiction in Indian youth

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As the understanding of food addiction increases, there is a need to explore the occurrence of this condition in different population groups. This exploratory study aimed to assess the occurrence of food addiction in a sample of respondents from India using a Hindi version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). METHODS: The Hindi language version of the scale was developed using the back-translation methodology. Subsequently, an online questionnaire-based study was conducted using convenience sampling which presented the Hindi version of YFAS. RESULTS: From 376 respondents (median age 19 years, 42.8% males), the rate of occurrence of food addiction was 13.3%. Persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit was the most common symptom domain endorsed. The weight (median 67 kg versus 60 kg) and BMI (median 25.89 kg/ m(2)versus 23.04 kg/ m(2)) were higher in the food addiction group as compared to the non-food addiction group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limitations of potential selection bias, this exploratory study suggests that food addiction may be present in a proportion of young aged Indians. The association of food addiction with higher weight and BMI suggests propensity to develop metabolic syndrome, and the need to evaluate interventions that could modify phenomenological expression of food addiction. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-021-00386-9.