Food addiction and weight in students with high academic performance

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationships between food addiction (FA), anthropometric characteristics and academic performance. Design: The average age (sd) of the participants was 17·5 (sd 2·7) years (64·1 % female). Each study participant indicated their sex, height, weight and academic performance and completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Setting: Syktyvkar, Kirov, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Russia; Aizawl, India. Participants: The study involved 3426 people. Results: FA was found in 8·7 % of participants from Russia and 14·6 % from India. In schoolchildren but not in university students, high academic performance was associated with a higher incidence rate of FA detection (OR = 1·16, 95 % CI 1·07, 1·26) and a lower BMI (OR = 0·72, 95 % CI 0·56, 0·94). Conclusions: These data showed an increased incidence rate of FA detection in adolescents with high academic performance.