FOOD ADDICTION: EATING DISORDER, SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER O BEHAVIORAL ADDICTION? AIP XIX, Symposium Session, 5, 2 A, Suppl. 2017

Addiction is traditionally defined as a compulsive need to use drugs with an addictive potential (as narcotics, alcohol, nicotine) to such an extent that its cessation causes severe psychological e physical symptoms. It implies also the will to sacrifice everything for the substance. Also food addiction has been recently regarded as a form of addiction. It has been defined as an eating behavior characterized by an excessive search and consumption of highly palatable foods. There are arguments for and against the nosology of food addiction. Most studies have used the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) for measuring the construct. The YFAS is now available in its second version, which has been developed on the basis of SUD criteria established in DSM-5. The research on food addiction (defined “eating addiction” by some authors) is in full swing and its main objective is to determine if food addiction should be considered a sub-type of Binge Eating Disorder.