Yale Food Addiction Scale - YFAS

Technical Manual

Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Created: April 14, 2016

Last Modified: October 09, 2026 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Background

This script implements a computerized version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. The Yale Food Addiction Scale was developed to identify people who exhibit dependence on high fat/high sugar foods.

References

Gearhardt, A.N., Corbin, W.R., & Brownell, K.D. (2009). Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Appetite, 52, 430-436.

Ashley N. Gearhardt, William R. Corbin, Kelly D. Brownell. (2012) . Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Science. Retrieved from www.midss.ie

Instrument Authors: Ashley N. Gearhardt, William R. Corbin, Kelly D. Brownell https://www.midss.org/content/yale-food-addiction-scale-yfas

Duration

4 minutes

Description

A questionnaire with 25 questions with different response scales, self-report

Scoring

(from scoring guidelines: https://www.midss.org/content/yale-food-addiction-scale-yfas):
The following cut-offs were developed for the continuous questions.
0 = criterion not met, 1 = criterion is met
The following questions are scored 0 = (0), 1 = (1): #19, #20, #21, #22
The following question is scored 0 = (1), 1 = (0): #24
The following questions are scored 0 = (0 thru 1), 1 = (2 thru 4): #8, #10, #11
The following questions are scored 0 = (0 thru 2), 1 = (3 & 4): #3, #5, #7, #9, #12, #13,
#14, #15, #16
The following questions are scored 0 = (0 thru 3), 1 = (4): #1, #2, #4, #6
The following questions are scored 0 = (0 thru 4), 1 = (5): #25
q17, q18, q23 are not scored - used as primers for other questions

Norms

(from scoring guidelines: https://www.midss.org/content/yale-food-addiction-scale-yfas):
Norms (undergraduates)
Diagnosis of Food Dependence – 11.6%
Median Symptom Count Score – 1.0
Withdrawal – 16.3%
Tolerance – 13.5%
Continued Use Despite Problems – 28.3%
Important Activities Given Up – 10.3%
Large Amounts of Time Spent – 24.0%
Loss of Control – 21.7%
Have Tried Unsuccessfully to Cut Down or Worried About Cutting Down – 71.3%
Clinically Significant Impairment - 14%

Summary Data

File Name: yalefoodaddictionscale_summary.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
startDate	Date the session was run
startTime	Time the session was run
subjectId	Participant ID
groupId	Group number
sessionId	Session number
inquisit.version	Inquisit version number
computer.platform	Device platform: win \| mac \|ios \| android
computer.touch	0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard	0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
elapsedTime	Session duration in ms
completed	0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed
scales	1 = criterion met 0 = criterion not met
amountsTaken	Substance taken in larger amount and for longer period than intended; Questions #1, #2, #3
unsuccessfulQuits	Persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit; Questions #4, #22, # 24, #25
timeSpentObtaining	Much time/activity to obtain, use, recover; Questions #5, #6, #7
reducedActivities	Important social, occupational, or recreational activities given up or reduced; Questions #8, #9, #10, #11
useDespiteKnowledge	Use continues despite knowledge of adverse consequences (e.g., failure to fulfill role obligation, use when physically hazardous); Question #19
tolerance	Tolerance (marked increase in amount; marked decrease in effect); Questions #20, #21
withdrawal	Characteristic withdrawal symptoms; substance taken to relieve withdrawal; Questions #12, #13, #14
clinicalSignificance	Use causes clinically significant impairment or distress; Questions #15, #16
symptomCountScore	Sum of the individual criterion scores (excluding clinical significance) = Symptom count without diagnosis (Range: 0-7)
diagnosisFoodDependence	1 = diagnosis met (symptomcount > 3 AND clinical significance = 1) 0 = otherwise diagnosis not met
q1-q25	Contain the scored responses for question 1-25 according to the scoring guidelines q17, q18, q23 are not scored - used as primers for other questions

Raw Data

File Name: yalefoodaddictionscale.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
date	Date the session was run
time	Time the session was run
subject	Participant ID
group	Group number
session	Session number
build	Inquisit version number
q*_response	Response given (in assigned values) Scale q1-q16: 0 (never) - 4 (4 or more times) q17-q24: 0 (no); 1 (yes) q25: 0 (1 or fewer times) - 4 (5 or more times) No reversed scored questions
q*_latency	How much time (in ms) the participant spent on the surveyPage with this particular question (the last time this particular surveyPage was visited)