Systematic review, how many cases are there?<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cUntil that date, this was a task that had not been undertaken,\u201d says Moreno Redondo. \u201cThere were isolated studies in some autonomous communities on the prevalence in situ in the analyzed population, but there was no research that addressed it comparatively through a systematic review,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
Their main conclusion is that there is no study that applies the most up-to-date criteria of the DSM-5 (the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental illnesses), which leaves health professionals with outdated information.<\/p>\n
The manual has undergone several updates. Its latest version is the fifth, and to date, no studies in Spain have applied this latest revision. Therefore, the information currently available is outdated because the diagnostic criteria for the pathologies listed in the book have changed.<\/p>\n
The second step of the thesis was to translate and adapt into Spanish a widely used international questionnaire for detecting food addiction in children, called the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children (YFAS-C). \u201cWe dedicated ourselves to translating this pediatric version into Spanish so that it could be applied to the child population in Spain,\u201d explains Moreno Redondo. Thanks to this work, the thesis has provided an instrument adapted and validated in Spanish that facilitates the assessment of food addiction in children. However, the researcher emphasizes the need to conduct additional psychometric studies\u2014used in psychology to verify whether a diagnostic tool meets validity criteria. \u201cThat would be the next step,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n
In contrast to food addiction, where the YFAS-C scale is the most widely used diagnostic tool, the field of classic eating disorders employs a wide variety of diagnostic tools for assessment. This leads many studies to use disparate instruments applied to samples with heterogeneous characteristics (age, sex, socioeconomic status, among other factors). This lack of uniformity prevents direct comparison of data and complicates establishing a precise prevalence figure. \u201cThat\u2019s why we always present the results as a range, between 3 and 12%, because calculating a mean would be neither logical nor correct,\u201d explains Moreno Redondo.<\/p>\n
Pilot study in Tenerife<\/strong><\/p>\nThe third article consisted of a preliminary study with a sample of children on the island of Tenerife. It was a pilot study that aimed to evaluate the validity of the YFAS-C scale, as well as serve as a first approximation of the estimated prevalence of food addiction on the island, despite the small sample size. \u201cIt was the first time this questionnaire had been applied to a Spanish pediatric population, and the results were quite consistent with those observed in the original validation of the tool,\u201d explains the author of the thesis.<\/p>\n
Among the study's limitations, the sample size and type stand out, as it was small and selected for convenience. "It was drawn from a high socio-cultural level educational center, and this is relevant because we know that socioeconomic level significantly influences the outcomes of these pathologies," notes the now PhD graduate from the University of La Laguna.<\/p>\n
In this case, no participants met the criteria for a food addiction diagnosis. \u201cFor this diagnosis to be established according to the YFAS-C scale, two conditions must be met: the presence of at least three addiction symptoms and clinically significant impairment,\u201d the report explains. \u201c201 of the participants presented three or more symptoms, but none met the criterion for clinically significant impairment,\u201d it adds. Therefore, to conduct a representative prevalence study on food addiction in children, a larger and more representative sample would be necessary.<\/p>\n
Eating disorder or addiction?<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cCurrently, food addiction is not recognized as a clinical pathology,\u201d states Moreno Redondo. He adds, \u201cThe question within the scientific community is whether it should be classified as an eating disorder or as a substance-related addiction, such as drugs or alcohol.\u201d.<\/p>\n
This is because, at the brain level, the mechanisms activated in cases of food addiction are very similar to those observed in substance addictions. "From that point of view, it could be considered a full-fledged addiction," notes the author of the doctoral thesis.<\/p>\n
However, when studying eating disorders such as bulimia or binge eating disorder, food addiction is often seen as a symptom within these pathologies. Therefore, the debate remains open. In fact, some scientific fields propose considering it as its own category, separate from both eating disorders and addictions.<\/p>\n
There are even people who think it shouldn't exist as a concept at all, because it can generate more stigma than benefit. The researcher explains: "A person with obesity already often faces social rejection, so adding the label of 'addict' can worsen this situation.".<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our case, we prefer to classify it as an eating disorder, because it is the only one in the DSM-5 manual that has a real nutritional component, where dietary intervention is essential for treatment,\u201d explain Moreno Redondo and Ben\u00edtez Brito. \u201cIn substance addictions, nutrition does not play that central role,\u201d they add.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it's difficult to accept that something as essential as food can be considered an addictive substance. The author of the thesis asks: \u201cWhat do we consider an addictive substance? Ultra-processed foods? Their ingredients?\u201d The problem is that food is necessary for life. For this reason, rather than talking about abstinence, the key lies in nutritional education and healthy habits.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this way, our approach is to treat food addiction within the framework of eating disorders,\u201d they state. \u201cWe understand that the arguments for classifying it within this framework are sound, although we recognize that scientific consensus does not yet exist,\u201d they maintain. The debate surrounding this issue has been ongoing for years, and it seems that many more years will pass before a clear and consensual decision is reached.<\/p>\n
Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (Cienci@ULL)<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The magnitude of obesity and its health consequences led the World Health Organization to\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,35,6,357,37,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ciencia-ull","category-departamentos","category-destacado","category-ingenieria-quimica-y-tecnologia-farmaceutica","category-investigacion","category-portada-ull"],"acf":[],"primary_category":null,"featured_image_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/Trastornos-alimentarios-carlos-diaz-franscisco-moreno-nestor-benitez-300x169.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ull.es\/portal\/noticias\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}