Food cravings in food addiction: exploring a potential cut-off value of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-reduced (2018)

Eat Weight Disord. 2018 Feb;23(1):39-43. doi: 10.1007/s40519-017-0452-3.

Meule A1,2.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The Food Cravings Questionnaires are among the most often used measures for assessing the frequency and intensity of food craving experiences. However, there is a lack of studies that have examined specific cut-off scores that may indicate pathologically elevated levels of food cravings.

METHODS:

Receiver-Operating-Characteristic analysis was used to determine sensitivity and specificity of scores on the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) for discriminating between individuals with (n = 43) and without (n = 389) “food addiction” as assessed with the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0.

RESULTS:

A cut-off score of 50 on the FCQ-T-r discriminated between individuals with and without “food addiction” with high sensitivity (85%) and specificity (93%).

CONCLUSIONS:

FCQ-T-r scores of 50 and higher may indicate clinically relevant levels of trait food craving.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Level V, descriptive study.

KEYWORDS:  Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait; Food addiction; Food craving; Yale Food Addiction Scale

PMID: 29080949

PMCID: PMC5807499

DOI: 10.1007/s40519-017-0452-3