Food Addiction and Impulsivity in Clinical Populations by Gender: a Systematic Review

Abstract Purpose of Review Food addiction (FA) has been found to be associated with impulsivity, mainly urgency (negative and positive) and lack of perseverance. The present systematic review aimed to identify differences in impulsivity by gender and current implications of treatment regarding FA and impulsivity in clinical populations. The search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) databases, using the following search terms: “food addiction” and “impuls*.” Studies were included if they were written in English, had an observational design (e.g., cross-sectional, longitudinal, case-control), and used a quantitative methodology, without a limited search period to avoid selection bias. Recent Findings We included twenty-nine articles that aimed to examine whether there is a relationship between FA and impulsivity in clinical populations. Looking at gender differences, attentional and motor impulsivity were found to be related to FA in samples of women with obesity, whereas in the only study in a sample of men with obesity, cognitive and non-planning impulsivity appeared to be more associated with FA. Moreover, we identified three studies on the effects of interventions which included motivational, psychosocial, nutritional, and mindfulness components to address impulsivity and FA in cohorts with overweight/obesity and with substance use disorder (SUD). While some studies reported decreased levels of impulsivity, in other studies only FA decreased, and only one study showed significant changes in both FA and impulsivity after treatment. Summary Further research is needed to better understand the association between impulsivity and FA. Specifically, more studies with male populations could provide further evidence on how to better tailor treatment designs.