Prevalence of food addiction and sex-specific correlates in a large sample of Iranian adults

Mohammad Niroumand Sarvandani; Qing-Wei Chen; Masoud Asadi; Paul Brunault; Erica M LaFata; Tracy L Burrows

doi:10.1038/s41598-025-26203-w

Prevalence of food addiction and sex-specific correlates in a large sample of Iranian adults

Sci Rep. 2025 Nov 25;15(1):41885. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-26203-w.

Authors

Mohammad Niroumand Sarvandani¹, Qing-Wei Chen^{2

3}, Masoud Asadi⁴, Paul Brunault^{5

6}, Erica M LaFata⁷, Tracy L Burrows^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. m.niroumand@live.com.
² Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
³ School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University, Arak, Iran.
⁵ Équipe de Liaison Et de Soins en Addictologie, CHRU de Tours, Service d'Addictologie Universitaire, Tours, France.
⁶ Université de Tours, INSERM, Imaging Brain & Neuropsychiatry iBraiN U1253, Tours, France.
⁷ Drexel University Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center), Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁸ School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Newcastle, Australia.
⁹ Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Obesity is a global health concern, and one potential contributing factor is addictive-like eating behavior. Despite growing interest, the prevalence of food addiction (FA) in large community samples in Iran, and the potential sex-specific correlates of FA, remain unexplored. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of FA in a non-clinical Iranian population and to compare its sociodemographic correlates between males and females. This cross-sectional study, conducted from 2021 to 2022, included valid data from 9,345 adults (82.1% female, 17.9% male). Participants completed the Persian version of the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mPYFAS 2.0) and demographic surveys. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify FA correlates. Overall, 15.6% of participants met the diagnostic threshold for FA (8.7% males, 17.2% females). Regarding FA severity, 4.0% exhibited mild FA (males: 2.9%; females: 4.3%), 4.1% displayed moderate FA (males: 2.0%; females: 4.6%), and 7.5% demonstrated severe FA (males: 3.8%; females: 8.3%). Multivariable analyses revealed that younger age, female sex, overweight/obesity, and lower education were associated with higher FA prevalence in the overall sample. Sex-specific analyses showed that age and weight status were significant correlates for females, while weight status and education level were significant for males. Notably, underweight status was positively correlated with FA for males but was negatively associated with FA for females. Regarding FA symptoms, females reported higher endorsement of most symptoms except for situation and problems and activities where no sex differences were found. This study highlights the significant prevalence of FA in Iran, emphasizing sex differences in prevalence, symptomatology, and associated sociodemographic factors. These findings provide valuable insights for designing tailored, sex-specific interventions to mitigate FA severity.

Keywords: Addictive-like eating; Food addiction; Iran; Obesity; Precision medicine; Sex difference.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Feeding Behavior
Female
Food Addiction* / epidemiology
Humans
Iran / epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Obesity / epidemiology
Prevalence
Sex Factors
Young Adult