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Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale

  • Sandra Torres
  • Marta Camacho
  • Patrício Costa
  • Gabriela Ribeiro
  • Osvaldo Santos
  • Filipa Mucha Vieira
  • Isabel Brandão
  • Daniel Sampaio
  • Albino J. Oliveira-MaiaEmail author
Original Article
First Online:
Part of the following topical collections:
  1. Food and Addiction

Abstract

Purpose

Rising rates of obesity have been recently associated to the novel concept of food addiction (FA). The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is the most widely used measure for examining FA (1) and analysis of its reliability and validity is expected to facilitate empirical research on the construct. Here, we tested the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the YFAS (P-YFAS), establishing its factor structure, reliability and construct validity.

Methods

Data were obtained from 468 Portuguese individuals, 278 sampled from non-clinical populations, and 190 among obese candidates for weight-loss surgery. A battery of self-report measures of eating behavior was applied.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis verified a one-factor structure with acceptable fit, with item analysis suggesting the need to eliminate item 24 from the P-YFAS. Internal consistency (KR-20 = .82) and test–retest stability were adequate. Correlation analyses supported convergent and divergent validity of the P-YFAS, particularly in the clinical sample. Both FA symptom count and diagnosis, according to the P-YFAS, adequately discriminated between samples, with classification of FA met by 2.5 and 25.8% of the participants in the non-clinical and clinical samples, respectively.

Conclusions

These findings reinforce the use of P-YFAS in non-clinical and clinical populations. Future directions for extending YFAS validation are discussed.

Keywords

Food addiction Obesity Reward Psychometrics 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ashley Gearhardt (Department of Psychology, University of Michigan) for providing access to the Yale Food Addiction Scale and contributing to the adaptation process. We would also like to thank Centro Hospitalar de S. João, Hospital São Bernardo, Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto, Hospital Espírito Santo de Évora, Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, Universidade Atlântica and Universidade de Évora, in particular Ana André, André Ferreira, Andreia Santos, António-Roma-Torres, Armando Raimundo, Carlos Trindade, Cecília Silva, Cristina Pontes, Manuel Carvalho, Margarida Pegacho, Mónica Silva, Rita Fernandes and Sara Pacheco, for assistance with recruitment of participants.

Compliance with ethical standards

Funding

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through a Junior Research and Career Development Award from the Harvard Medical Portugal Program (HMSP/ICJ/0020/2011) to AJO-M and CPUP (UID/PSI/00050/2013) to ST, and a Grant from the BIAL Foundation (176/10) to AJO-M.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Supplementary material

40519_2016_349_MOESM1_ESM.docx (27 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 26 kb)

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sandra Torres
    • 1
    • 2
  • Marta Camacho
    • 3
  • Patrício Costa
    • 4
    • 5
    • 1
  • Gabriela Ribeiro
    • 3
    • 6
  • Osvaldo Santos
    • 7
    • 8
  • Filipa Mucha Vieira
    • 1
  • Isabel Brandão
    • 9
    • 10
  • Daniel Sampaio
    • 11
    • 12
  • Albino J. Oliveira-Maia
    • 3
    • 13
    • 14
    • 15
    Email author
  1. 1.Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da EducaçãoUniversidade do PortoPortoPortugal
  2. 2.Center for PsychologyUniversidade do PortoPortoPortugal
  3. 3.Champalimaud Clinical CentreChampalimaud Centre for the UnknownLisbonPortugal
  4. 4.Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), Escola de Ciências da SaúdeUniversidade do MinhoBragaPortugal
  5. 5.ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate LaboratoryBragaPortugal
  6. 6.Lisbon Academic Medical CentreFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
  7. 7.Instituto de Medicina Preventiva e Saúde PúblicaFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
  8. 8.Instituto de Saúde AmbientalFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
  9. 9.Department of PsychiatryCentro Hospitalar de S. JoãoPortoPortugal
  10. 10.Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do PortoPortoPortugal
  11. 11.Department of PsychiatryCentro Hospitalar de Lisboa NorteLisbonPortugal
  12. 12.Department of PsychiatryFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de LisboaLisbonPortugal
  13. 13.Department of Psychiatry and Mental HealthCentro Hospitalar de Lisboa OcidentalLisbonPortugal
  14. 14.NOVA School of Medicine | Faculdade de Ciências MédicasUniversidade Nova de LisboaLisbonPortugal
  15. 15.Champalimaud ResearchChampalimaud Centre for the UnknownLisbonPortugal

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