Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, Rua Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos, 785, Cerqueira César, Sao Paulo, SP, CEP 05403-010, Brazil.
Appetite. 2019 Jun 1;137:35-46. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.02.008. Epub 2019 Feb 20.
There has been polarizing debate on addictive-like eating in recent years. To move toward valid definition and measurement of this construct, qualitative research describing individuals' experiences is needed. The present study explored how Brazilian men and women define and experience addictive-like eating. Interviews were conducted with 7 men and 8 women (M = 46.6 years, M = 35.43 kg/m) seeking treatment for addictive-like eating. Thematic analysis of interviews identified three saturated, overarching themes describing participants' conceptualizations of the (1) characteristics, (2) causal factors, and (3) consequences of addictive-like eating. Lack of control was a key characteristic of addictive-like eating described by all participants. A causal factor which most participants described was emotional eating. Consequences included emotional, interpersonal, occupational, and health-related impairments which appeared primarily related to weight gain, rather than to the pattern of addictive-like eating itself. These results are largely consistent with those of previous qualitative studies. Importantly, the symptoms described by our participants and in previous qualitative studies may be inadequately captured by existing self-report questionnaires designed to assess addictive-like eating. To address this potential limitation, we provide recommendations for assessing the full range of possible addictive-like eating symptoms.
近年来，关于类似成瘾的进食行为一直存在两极分化的争论。为了对这一结构进行有效的定义和测量，需要进行描述个体经验的定性研究。本研究探讨了巴西男性和女性如何定义和体验类似成瘾的进食行为。对 7 名男性和 8 名女性（M=46.6 岁，M=35.43kg/m）进行了访谈，他们正在寻求针对类似成瘾的进食行为的治疗。对访谈的主题分析确定了三个饱和的、总体主题，描述了参与者对（1）特征、（2）因果因素和（3）类似成瘾的进食行为的后果的概念化。所有参与者都描述了缺乏控制是类似成瘾的进食行为的一个关键特征。大多数参与者描述的一个因果因素是情绪化进食。后果包括情绪、人际关系、职业和健康相关的障碍，这些障碍似乎主要与体重增加有关，而不是与类似成瘾的进食行为本身有关。这些结果与之前的定性研究基本一致。重要的是，我们参与者和之前的定性研究中描述的症状可能不能被现有的旨在评估类似成瘾的进食行为的自我报告问卷充分捕捉到。为了解决这一潜在的局限性，我们提供了评估可能的类似成瘾的进食行为症状的全面范围的建议。
