One in 8 Older US Adults Meet Criteria for Food Addiction: Experts Explain

At least 1 symptom of addicitive eating was reported by 44% of adults aged 50 to 80 years responding to the most recent University of Michigan (U-M) National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA), according to Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, associate professor of psychology in the clinical science area at U-M. Further, 1 in 8 survey respondents affirmed 2 of the 11 symptoms used to identify addictive behavior, meeting the threshold for a clinical diagnosis of a substance-use disorder.

The NPHA surveys US adults aged 50 to 80 years twice a year to guage the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs of this large population segment on health care-related topics, often topics like this one, that go unrecognized, according to poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH. In an interview with Patient Care^®, Kullgren and Gearhardt highlight details of the survey questions and the findings.

More from the Patient Care conversation with Drs Gearhardt and Kullgren:

When is a Nacho Like Cocaine? Author of the Yale Food Addiction Scale Explains

Highly Processed Food is Produced to Be as Rewarding as Humanly Possible, Says Food Addiction Expert

One in 4 Older US Adults Meets Criteria for Food Addiction: Experts Explain

Subclinical Food Addiction Common Among Older Adults, Women Twice as Vulnerable as Men: Expert Interview

Gearhardt's lab at the University of Michigan (U-M) teamed with the National Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and under the direction of Jeffery Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH, to look more closely at a population rarely included in research on food addiction. The National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA) surveys are fielded twice per year using a sample of approximately 2,000 respondents aged 50 to 80 years drawn from a nationally representative probability-based panel of U.S. households. The NPHA is supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center, in Ann Arbor.

For more information:

Food and Addiction Science and Treatment Lab (Dr Gearhardt's lab)

The Yale Food Addiction Scale

The National Poll on Healthy Aging