Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41388322›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2025

Food addiction in children: a network analysis of nutritional, metabolic, and sociodemographic factors.

Gabriela Carvalho Jurema Santos, André Luiz Góes Pacheco, Tafnes Almeida Oliveira, Isabella Ribeiro Nogueira, Jonathan Manoel Costa, Isabele Goés Nobre, Raquel Canuto, Carol Góis Leandro

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Gabriela Carvalho Jurema SantosFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil. gabriela.cjsantos@ufpe.br.
André Luiz Góes PachecoFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil.
Tafnes Almeida OliveiraFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil.
Isabella Ribeiro NogueiraFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil.
Jonathan Manoel CostaFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil.
Isabele Goés NobreFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil.
Raquel CanutoUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Carol Góis LeandroFederal University of Pernambuco, Academic Center of Vitória, Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil. carol.leandro@ufpe.br.

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico 312079/2021-4Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level or Education Personnel 797-20Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco 0233-4.05/25Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco 1440-4.05/24National Council for Scientific and Technological Development 316405/2025-6
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFood addiction (FA) is a condition in which ultra-processed foods (UPFs) activate the brain's reward pathways, leading to binge eating, loss of control, and continued consumption despite negative consequences. It can appear early in childhood and is linked to behavioral, sociodemographic, and metabolic factors. This study assessed the contribution of FA, its structure, and connectivity in relation to sociodemographic, nutritional status, and metabolic variables in network analysis.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 93 children (7-11 years old) living in Vitória de Santo Antão, Brazil. FA was assessed using the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children, which was translated and validated for the Brazilian child population. Sociodemographic (age, sex, race, socioeconomic class), anthropometric (body weight, height, waist circumference, BMI, BMI-for-age, body fat percentage, lean mass, and fat mass), and metabolic (blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and fasting glucose) factors were analyzed. For network analysis, the degree centrality (DC), closeness centrality (CC), betweenness centrality (BC), and eigenvector centrality (EC) were evaluated.

resultsFA exhibited moderate centrality in sociodemographic and metabolic networks, acting as a connector between key variables such as age and socioeconomic class (BC = 0.071-0.500; EC = 0.301-0.500; CC = 0.636-0.667). These metrics indicate that FA, while not dominant, maintains access to influential nodes and participates in relevant information pathways. In contrast, within the anthropometric network, FA showed a peripheral role, with fewer direct links (DC = 0.222-0.285) and limited intermediation (BC = 0.111).

conclusionVariation in centrality across domains underscores the selective integration of FA, suggesting that its impact is context dependent.

Indexed as

Addictive behaviorChildrenComplex networkFood consumptionHigh-order complex networkNutritional status

Identifiers

PMID41388322
PMCPMC12888354

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.