The concept of
food addiction, characterized by a strong urge to overeat highly palatable foods, has gained increased research attention over the last decade. College students are a recognized risk group for manifesting an eating pathology and
weight gain due to the changes in eating habits experienced during this period. However, there is a gap in the literature connecting
food addiction with eating and weight variables in this population. Thus, the present study aims to characterize
food addiction in a sample of college students and enlighten the relationship between
food addiction, weight-variables, eating habits, and food choices in this population. A sample of 194 college students (89.2% females) aged between 18 and 32 years old (M = 20.85, SD = 2.78) completed a set of self-reported online questionnaires on Google Forms. Namely, a Sociodemographic and Anthropometric Questionnaire, a questionnaire on Food Choices Characterization, the Eating Habits Scale, and the Portuguese Yale
Food Addiction Scale 2.0. Thirty (22.2%) participants presented
food addiction problems. The logistic regression models utilized suggest that participants in the group with
food addiction problems are more likely to seek clinical help to control weight, to consider that they should eat less food high in
sugar, and to report lower food adequacy. In sum, this finding highlighted a connection between
food addiction, weight dissatisfaction, eating habits, and food choices in college students, a population at risk for developing and retaining eating pathologies. Further research is essential to evaluate and implement interventions regarding
food addiction, weight dissatisfaction, eating habits, and food choices in college students.