Abstract

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States, and the quest to combat this epidemic continues. Recently, researchers have begun to examine the concept of food addiction and its potential relationship with increasing levels of obesity among Americans. However, a study has yet to be conducted examining this relationship when classifying obesity using measures of actual body fat percentage. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between level of food addiction and level of body fat percentage among adults. In addition, we examined the food addiction construct in relation to several other factors including self-esteem, emotion regulation, and scores on depression and eating disorder inventories. Upon agreement to take part in this study, participants were asked to complete several surveys including a survey on demographic information, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Beck Depression Inventory II, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Yale Food Addictions. Then, body fat was measured using the BodPod. A total of 52 participants completed this study. For the sample as a whole, there was a significant, positive relationship between body fat percentage and food addiction. Food addiction was also positively related to scores on depression, disordered eating, and eating regulation difficulties. However, when examining these relationships in men and women separately, the associations between food addiction and the aforementioned factors remained significant among women only.

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