1) The study examined potential gender differences in foods implicated in addictive-like eating behaviors using the Yale Food Addiction Scale. 2) Results found that men reported greater problems with savory foods like apples, beans, carrots, chicken, french fries, and steak, while women reported greater problems with sweets like chocolate, rolls, and strawberries. 3) The findings suggest men may experience addictive-like eating from a wider variety of "comfort foods" compared to women, and have implications for tailoring treatment approaches between genders.

1. Introduction
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Problematic Eating Differs by Gender
Priya Sorab, Erica M. Schulte, B.A. & Ashley N. Gearhardt, Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Department of Psychology
The Concept of “Food Addiction”
Discussion
• Some individuals may experience an addictive-like
response to certain foods, based on similarities
between substance-use disorders and “food
addiction” (Gearhardt, Corbin & Brownell, 2009).
• Symptoms of “food addiction” include a loss of
control over consumption, and inability to cut down
• Little research exists to identify which foods may be
most implicated in “food addiction” for humans
• Sugar and fat may be important food attributes for
addictive-like eating (Avena 2010)
•When asked to describe which foods implicated in
binging, women were more likely to describe
sweets and men were more likely to describe
savory foods (Reslan & Saules, 2011)
We hypothesize that not all foods and food attributes are equally implicated in addictive-like eating, and
gender differences in the consumption of such foods may exist.
Protocol
• Participants were given the Yale Food Addiction
Scale (YFAS), which operationalizes addictive-like
eating behavior (Gearhardt et al., 2009)
• They rated how likely they were to experience
problems with each of the 35 foods on a Likert
Scale of 1-7.
Food T Value Significance More
Problematic
For?
Mean Male
Rating
Mean Female
Rating
Apple 2.75 p<.01 Males 1.80 1.44
Beans, no
sauce
2.28 p<.01 Males 1.76 1.44
Carrots 3.53 p<.01 Males 1.78 1.35
Chicken
Breast
2.93 p<.01 Males 2.37 1.85
French Fries 1.08 p<.05 Males 3.69 3.46
Granola Bar 2.73 p<.01 Males 2.10 1.68
Gummy
Candy
2.61 p<.01 Males 2.79 2.26
Pretzels 2.80 p<.01 Males 2.32 1.85
Salmon 3.14 p<.01 Males 2.04 1.54
Steak 4.28 p<.01 Males 2.88 2.05
Cheese 2.36 p<.01 Females 3.02 3.51
Chocolate 3.70 p<.01 Females 3.40 4.21
Rolls (plain) 1.53 p<.01 Females 2.61 2.90
Strawberries .502 p<.05 Females 1.85 1.93
•Men tended to report problems with savory and salty foods,
while women experience problems with foods high in sugar
and refined carbohydrates.
•Females may be more likely to emphasize sweet foods when
asked to define foods implicated in binge eating, while males
may likely emphasize savory foods (Reslan & Saules, 2011).
Differences in the foods implicated in addictive-like eating
may have important treatment implications
•Further studies will help identify possible triggers of food
addiction as they differ between males and females.
•Men reported a wider range of foods associated with
addictive-like eating
•Men may have a greater variety of comfort foods (Wasink,
Cheney & Chan, 2003)
Methods Results
Highly Processed Foods
(Contain processed
carbohydrates or added fat)
Unprocessed foods
(Do not contain processed
carbohydrates or added fat)
Participants and Data Collection
• Data collected through Amazon Mturk
• 384 participants: 228 males, 156 females (mean age =
31.14, SD = 9.61; mean BMI = 26.95, SD = 6.21)