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Can a Behavioral Weight-Loss Intervention Change Adolescents' Food Addiction Severity?

Author
Abstract
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This study examines changes in the Yale Food Addiction Scale symptom count over a 24-week, weight-loss mobile Health (mHealth) intervention incorporating elements of addiction medicine. Adolescents ( = 117) with obesity (15.5 ± 1.3 years; 66% Hispanic) were randomized to the following: (1) mHealth intervention (AppAlone), (2) mHealth intervention+coaching (AppCoach), or (3) in-person intervention (Control). A multivariate mixed Poisson regression model was used to evaluate changes in symptom counts across intervention arms after adjusting for sex, age, depressive symptomatology, stress, and executive function. After the intervention, 57% of adolescents showed a decrease in symptom count (median change: -0.3 [0 to -1.5]), with a significant change by intervention arm in the intention-to-treat analysis ( = 0.045). There was a positive linear relationship between change in symptom count and change in depressive symptomatology ( < 0.01) and stress ( < 0.01), with no association with change in weight ( = 0.3). Both mHealth and in-person obesity interventions seemed to confer benefits in food addiction symptomatology associated with change in mood and stress. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT035008353.

Year of Publication
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2022
Journal
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Childhood obesity (Print)
Volume
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18
Issue
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3
Number of Pages
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206-212
ISSN Number
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2153-2168
URL
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https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/chi.2021.0271?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
DOI
:
10.1089/chi.2021.0271
Short Title
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Child Obes
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