Food cravings, food intake, and weight status in a community-based sample

• We examined food cravings and habitual food intake in a community sample of adults.
• Individuals with a higher BMI had higher frequencies of food cravings.
• Cravings were associated with respective intake of the craved food type.
• Food cravings and BMI did not interact to estimate food intake.

The aims of this study were to 1) determine the relationships between BMI and the frequency of food cravings for different categories of foods, 2) examine the associations between cravings for different types of foods and self-reported, habitual intake of these foods, and 3) assess how these relationships differ by BMI. Six hundred and forty-six participants (55.7% female; 66.4% White; mean age 29.5 ± 9.1 years; mean BMI 27.3 ± 5.5 kg/m2) completed a comprehensive assessment battery including the Food Craving Inventory (FCI) and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). There was a significant positive relationship between BMI and food cravings. There were significant positive associations of cravings for sweets, high fats, carbohydrates/starches, and fast-food fats on respective intake of these types of foods; however, there were no significant interactions between food cravings and BMI on the respective type of food intake. This study indicates significant positive relationships between specific categories of food cravings and habitual intake of those foods.