The relationship of food addiction with carbohydrate intake and stress in adolescents

Aims: Overweight and obesity in adulthood relate to factors at younger ages in some individuals. This study investigated the relationship of food addiction (FA) with carbohydrate intake and stress in adolescents. Methods: A single-center cross-sectional study was performed using a questionnaire that included basic characteristics, anthropometric measurements (weight, height, body mass index), Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS 21), and the food frequency questionnaire for the consumption of high carbohydrates and sugarcontaining foods. Results: The study included 192 adolescents (146 female and 46 male) aged between 12 and 19 years. FA was detected in 8.9% of the participants. Female adolescents had a higher prevalence of FA than male adolescents (female: 10.3%; male: 4.3%, p=0.217). FA was not observed in any underweight individuals, while its prevalence was 14.3% in obese individuals. The YFAS score was 2.7±1.8, and the presence of FA was significantly related to YFAS (p<0.001). Foods that individuals with FA had the most problems with were chocolate/wafer, chips (52.9%), white bread (41.2%), deep-fried dough desserts, hamburgers/pita/lahmacun/doner, and frizzy drinks/coke (35.3%) (p<0.05). Of the food-addicted participants, 88.2% had moderate, severe, or extremely severe levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. YFAS score correlated with stress (r=0.472, p<0.001), depression (r=0.458, p<0.001), and anxiety (r=0.528, p<0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that high sugar content related to carbohydrates in foods might have addictive effects on adolescents.