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Food cravings are common experiences that precede dysfunctional eating behaviors, such as overeating and binge eating. These cravings are often related to negative affect, especially in emotional eaters. Recent studies have revived interest in a theory on the implicit modulation of affect: the facial feedback-hypothesis. This theory claims that mimic expressions influence affective experiences. Given the association between negative affect and food craving, facial feedback could provide a means to reduce or prevent food cravings. In an experimental study, using a read aloud task, we examined, whether an implicit modulation of facial muscle activity - zygomatic muscle (smiling: FF+) and corrugator muscle (frowning: FF-) - would alter food cue-induced cravings in healthy young women (n = 60). We further examined, if traits in emotional eating influence the facial feedback-effect. The activation of the zygomatic muscle prevented the occurrence of food cravings after exposure with palatable food cues. Food craving only increased in the FF- group (p = 0.029). The facial feedback effect was especially pronounced in emotional eaters, indicated by a significant moderation (p = 0.041). In participants with high degrees of emotional eating, food craving was reduced in the FF + group and amplified in the FF- group. The results indicate that mimic expressions might influence food cravings on implicit pathways. Existing approaches that target implicit behavior modification via facial feedback may be transferable to eating behavior. These methods could potentially help in altering dysfunctional eating associated with food craving, especially in individuals prone to emotional eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) measures addiction-like eating of palatable foods based on the seven diagnostic criteria for substance dependence in the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Most recently, a new version of the YFAS has been developed based on the revised eleven diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder in DSM-5. This YFAS 2.0 was translated into German and used among other measures in a study with 455 university students (89% female) and in a study with 138 obese patients presenting for bariatric surgery (78% female). In the student sample, the one-factorial structure of the English version could be replicated and internal consistency was α = 0.90. The diagnostic threshold for 'food addiction' was met by 10% of the sample. 'Food addiction' diagnoses were associated with higher body mass, binge eating frequency, trait food craving, and attentional impulsivity as well as with lower perceived self-regulatory success in dieting. In the obese sample, the diagnostic threshold for 'food addiction' was met by 47% of participants. Again, 'food addiction' symptomatology was associated with higher binge eating frequency and attentional impulsivity. However, those with a 'food addiction' diagnosis did not differ from those without a diagnosis in body mass. To conclude, psychometric properties of the English YFAS 2.0 were replicated for the German YFAS 2.0. Prevalence rates and correlates of 'food addiction' as measured with the YFAS 2.0 were similar to those found with the previous version of the YFAS. Thus, the German YFAS 2.0 appears to be a reliable measure that can be used for the investigation of addiction-like eating behavior, analogous to the original version of the YFAS and the English YFAS 2.0., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)