Comparing Impulse Control and Emotional Regulation in Patients With and Without Food Addiction

This study examined the variables of impulse control and emotional regulation in patients with food addiction compared to the control group.
The study was cross-sectional, and the sample was composed of men. Thirty patients admitted to a clinic for food addiction were part of the research group, and another 30 persons were part of the control group. Semi-structured interviews were used for screening the participants. The Yale Food Addiction Scale was used for diagnosis and research groups, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Graz Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale were used to assess impulse control and emotional regulation, respectively. To evaluate each variable, multivariate analysis of variance was conducted.
The findings demonstrated that patients had statistically achieved the lowest scores in all aspects of food addiction, impulse control and emotional regulation compared with the control group.
Patients with food addiction had high impulsivity and lower emotion regulation compared to the control group. Thus, it can be inferred that impaired impulse control and emotional regulation are important factors in the formation and persistence of addictions.

Keywords: Food addiction, Impulse control, Emotional regulation