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It's important to note that this is not a clinical diagnosis, but rather an indicator of potential eating behaviours that may be concerning.

What These Results Mean

Your responses indicate severe food addiction, meaning you're experiencing 6 or more behavioural symptoms associated with addictive-like eating patterns, and these are significantly impacting your distress levels and ability to function in daily life.

What this means: You're experiencing substantial difficulties with loss of control over certain foods, involving multiple symptoms such as: eating much more than intended, repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down, significant time spent obtaining or consuming certain foods, strong cravings, withdrawal symptoms when not eating these foods, continued eating despite knowing it causes problems, giving up important activities, using food in physically risky situations, tolerance (needing more to get the same effect), and social or interpersonal problems related to eating.

Understanding the impact: At this severity level, your relationship with food is likely significantly affecting your physical health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, work or school performance, and overall quality of life. You may feel trapped in patterns of behaviour you desperately want to change but find extremely difficult to control. Research shows that severe food addiction is often associated with binge eating episodes, emotional eating, and significant psychological distress.

You are not alone, and this is not a character flaw: Severe food addiction affects approximately 37% of people who complete this assessment—more than one in three. Research demonstrates that addictive-like eating involves changes in brain reward systems similar to those seen in substance use disorders. This is not about willpower or weakness. It's a complex condition involving biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Most individuals at this level (83% according to research) also experience co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns.

The role of environment: Research shows that food addiction rates vary significantly across different countries and food environments. The availability of ultra-processed foods—those engineered to be highly palatable and rewarding—combined with food marketing, stress, and cultural factors, all contribute to these patterns. This isn't just about individual factors; your environment plays a substantial role.

Important context: Many of the individual symptoms you're experiencing (like withdrawal, cravings, or eating more than intended) are actually quite common—over half of people taking this assessment report them. What distinguishes your result is experiencing multiple symptoms together at high frequencies, combined with significant distress and impairment in your daily life.

Treatment approaches: Severe food addiction typically requires comprehensive, multi-faceted treatment involving several elements working together. This usually includes professional assessment by healthcare professionals who can identify co-occurring conditions and create an integrated treatment plan; psychological therapy such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), or dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), often adapted to address both eating behaviours and underlying emotional or trauma issues; nutritional rehabilitation with a registered dietitian experienced in eating disorders and food addiction to develop a balanced, sustainable eating pattern; medical evaluation of physical health impacts; treatment for co-occurring anxiety, depression, or trauma; and support systems like peer groups, family therapy, or structured treatment programmes. For some individuals with multiple health complications, more intensive treatment programmes may be beneficial.

Your path forward: While severe food addiction is serious and requires support, thousands of people have successfully changed their relationship with food through treatment. You've already taken an important first step by completing this assessment and learning about your patterns. Recovery isn't about perfection—it's about progress, self-compassion, and building a support system. Change is possible with the right help.

What you can do today: Prioritise self-compassion over self-criticism; tell someone you trust about your struggles; make a list of people you can contact for support; take the first step of contacting your GP about these concerns; remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness; if you're feeling overwhelmed, reach out to a crisis service—you don't have to handle this alone.

Critical next step: Please reach out for professional support. Contact your GP, a therapist specialising in eating disorders or addiction, a registered dietitian, or a treatment programme that specialises in food addiction and eating disorders. Many people at this severity level benefit from an integrated treatment team approach. Your wellbeing matters, and help is available.

If you're in crisis: If you're experiencing thoughts of self-harm or feel overwhelmed by your situation, support is available 24/7. In the UK: Samaritans 116 123, NHS 111 (option 2 for mental health). In the US: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 999 (UK) or 911 (US). You matter, and help is available.

Understanding the Screener

This screener looks at different aspects of eating behavior, such as:

• How often you eat certain foods
• Whether you have trouble controlling how much you eat
• If eating affects your daily activities or causes you distress

The screener uses specific thresholds for each question. To avoid over-pathologising normal eating behaviours, once a week might be considered significant for some questions, while for others it might be 2-3 times a week.

For a detailed explanation of how YFAS 2.0 works and what your results mean, visit our article Understanding Food Addiction: The Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 Explained

Important Notes

• This screener is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
• Only a qualified healthcare professional can provide a clinical diagnosis.
• If you're concerned about your eating habits, please consult with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian.