Does Eating Addiction Favor a More Varied Diet or Contribute to Obesity?—The Case of Polish Adults

Abstract

The rapidly increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity indicates a need to search for their main causes. Addictive-like eating and associated eating patterns might result in overconsumption, leading to weight gain. The aim of the study was to identify the main determinants of food intake variety (FIV) within eating addiction (EA), other lifestyle components, and sociodemographic characteristics. The data for the study were collected from a sample of 898 Polish adults through a cross-sectional survey in 2019. The questionnaire used in the study included Food Intake Variety Questionnaire (FIVeQ), Eating Preoccupation Scale (EPS), and questions regarding lifestyle and sociodemographic factors. High eating addiction was found in more than half of the people with obesity (54.2%). In the study sample, physical activity at leisure time explained FIV in the greatest manner, followed by the EPS factor: eating to provide pleasure and mood improvement. In the group of people with obesity, the score for this EPS factor was the best predictor of FIV, in that a higher score was conducive to a greater variety of food intake. Sociodemographic characteristics differentiated FIV only within groups with normal body weight (age) and with overweight (education). In conclusion, food intake variety (FIV) was associated with physical activity at leisure time, and then with EPS factor “Eating to provide pleasure and mood improvement”, whereas sociodemographic characteristics were predictors of FIV only within groups identified by body mass index (BMI). Nevertheless, our observations regarding the eating to provide pleasure and mood improvement factor and its associations with food intake variety indicate a need for further research in this area. Future studies should also use other tools to explicitly explain this correlation.