Whatnall Megan, Skinner Janelle, Verdejo-Garcia Antonio, Carter Adrian, Brown Robyn M, Andrews Zane B, Dayas Chris V, Hardman Charlotte A, Loxton Natalie, Sumithran Priya, Burrows Tracy
Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2021 Apr 26;11(5):60. doi: 10.3390/bs11050060.
The symptoms of addictive eating are often debated, with some overlap in symptoms with substance addictions or other disorders such as binge eating disorder. This study explored the levels of agreement with symptoms of addictive eating among different health professions, the conditions they provide advice for, and the population group/s they work with. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in February-April 2020 including 142 health professionals (87% female, 65% residing in Australia, 28% each working in private practice/hospital settings). Of these, 47% were dietitians, 20% psychologists/psychotherapists/counsellors, 16% other health practitioners (e.g., social workers), 13% health researchers, and 5% medical professionals. Agreement with 11 statements relating to addictive eating symptoms was assessed on a scale of 1/strongly disagree to 5/strongly agree (e.g., certain foods produce physiological effects in the brain rewards system). Differences in agreement by health profession were assessed by one-way analysis of variance. There were significant differences in agreement with individual statements between health professions. Psychologists, psychotherapists, and counsellors reported lower agreement to statements relating to physiological effects in the reward system, withdrawal symptoms, and over-eating to alleviate stress/anxiety, than other professions ( < 0.05). Those providing advice for disordered eating only reported lower agreement across statements compared with those providing advice for overweight/obesity or both ( < 0.001). There were minimal differences based on the population group/s that health professionals work with. There is some agreement among health professionals regarding addictive eating symptoms, however, this differs by profession and the conditions they treat. This study provides a novel perspective on health professionals' views on addictive eating symptoms, and there is a need for more research to explore the concepts further.
成瘾性饮食的症状常常存在争议，其症状与物质成瘾或其他疾病（如暴饮暴食症）有一些重叠。本研究探讨了不同健康专业人员对成瘾性饮食症状的认同程度、他们提供建议的病症以及与之合作的人群。2020年2月至4月进行了一项在线横断面调查，共有142名健康专业人员参与（87%为女性，65%居住在澳大利亚，28%分别在私人诊所/医院工作）。其中，47%是营养师，20%是心理学家/心理治疗师/咨询师，16%是其他健康从业者（如社会工作者），13%是健康研究人员，5%是医学专业人员。对与成瘾性饮食症状相关的11条陈述的认同程度采用从1/强烈反对到5/强烈同意的量表进行评估（例如，某些食物会在大脑奖励系统中产生生理效应）。通过单因素方差分析评估不同健康专业之间认同程度的差异。不同健康专业在对各条陈述的认同上存在显著差异。心理学家、心理治疗师和咨询师对与奖励系统中的生理效应、戒断症状以及通过过度进食来缓解压力/焦虑相关的陈述的认同程度低于其他专业（<0.05）。与为超重/肥胖或两者提供建议的人员相比，仅为饮食失调提供建议的人员对各条陈述的认同程度较低（<0.001）。根据健康专业人员所服务的人群几乎没有差异。健康专业人员在成瘾性饮食症状方面存在一些共识，然而，这因专业和他们所治疗的病症而异。本研究为健康专业人员对成瘾性饮食症状的看法提供了一个新的视角，并且需要更多的研究来进一步探索这些概念。
