Food addiction relations to depression and anxiety in Egyptian adolescents

IntroductionFood addiction (FA) is a recent term used to describe craving for food in addition to functional impairment. FA has not been thoroughly studied in adolescents, so the aim of this study was to assess its presence in Egyptian adolescents and its relations to some psychiatric correlates; anxiety and depression.Subjects and methodsA cross sectional design was used. Four hundred adolescents were interviewed from the different geographic locations in Cairo to assess FA by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), depression by the Child Depression Inventory (CDI) scale and anxiety by the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) child version questionnaire.ResultsFA was present in 12% of the studied adolescents. Depression was present in 74 adolescents (18.5%). FA and depression coexisted in 5 subjects (10.4%). The diagnosis of anxiety was met in 38 adolescents (9.5%) and it coexisted with food addiction in only one adolescent (2%). FA scores showed moderately significant positive correlations with most of the anxiety subtypes as well as with the total score for anxiety and depression. Some FA symptomatology were significantly different between those with and without anxiety and depression.ConclusionFA exists in Egyptian adolescents and has strong associations with psychiatric comorbidities. Anxiety and depression should be evaluated in every individual with FA and vice versa as these psychiatric morbidities may be the inciting factor for the development of food addiction. Evaluation and treatment should address all the existent comorbidities. Careful attention should be paid to the presence of excess food consumption despite knowledge of adverse consequences, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and important social or occupational activities given up or reduced because their presence coincided in this study with the presence of depression and/or anxiety which makes psychiatric evaluation more valuable.