(PS6-C51) Food Addiction and Its Relationship with Other Eating Behaviors Among College Students

Food Addiction (FA) is defined by the excessive and dysregulated intake of high-calorie foods. It is a very prevalent problem in young people, and it has been associated with negative consequences. Research has not yet identified which factors may contribute to the onset and development of FA. Therefore, the aims of this study were: 1) to analyze the relationships between FA with other eating behaviors, sociodemographic variables, and BMI; and 2) to test the predictive power of relevant dietary variables related to FA. The sample consisted of 400 college students (M_age= 24.16, SD_age= 6.12; 51% female), who completed several questionnaires: the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) to assess food addiction, the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire to assess eating styles (emotional, external, and restrained eating), the Binge Eating Scale to assess binge eating, and the Eating Disorders Inventory-3 referral form to assess bulimia. To analyze potential differences and relationships between mYFAS 2.0 and age, gender, and BMI, we applied chi square test, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlations. Finally, we tested the predictive power of the variables related to FA in a structural equation modeling context. FA was related to emotional eating, external eating, restrained eating, binge eating, and bulimia (p < .001). No differences were found between gender and BMI, and younger scored higher on FA (p > .05). The predictive power of dietary variables (BMI, emotional eating, external eating, restrained eating, binge eating, and bulimia) was demonstrated, all explaining 56.6% of the variance of FA. All these variables should be considered to prevent FA in young people.