Dietary and quality‐of‐life outcomes of the FoodFix intervention for addictive eating: a short report

Background Interest in addictive eating continues to grow from both a research and clinical perspective. To date, dietary assessment alongside food addiction status is limited, with management options for addictive eating behaviours variable, given the overlap with myriad conditions. The aim of this study was to report the dietary intake and quality‐of‐life outcomes from a personality‐targeted motivational interviewing intervention delivered by dietitians using telehealth. Methods The study was conducted in adults exceeding their healthy‐weight range with symptoms of addictive eating, as defined by the Yale Food Addiction Scale. The 52 participants were randomised to either intervention or control, with 49 participants commencing the intervention. Individuals participated in the 3‐month, three‐session FoodFix interventions, with dietary outcomes assessed by the Australian Eating Survey and quality of life assessed using the SF‐36 at baseline and 3 months. Results There were small‐to‐moderate effect sizes, specifically in the intervention group for decreased added sugar intake, increased protein intake, increased meat quality and increased vegetable servings per day. Six out of eight quality‐of‐life domains had small‐to‐moderate effect sizes. Conclusions This intervention has highlighted the need for further research in larger sample sizes to assess dietary behaviour change by those who self‐report addictive eating. Participants in the FoodFix intervention exhibited low diet quality, characterised by low vegetable intake, high saturated fat and sugar intake. The intervention group showed a greater reduction in daily added sugar intake when compared with control and also showed improvements in six of the eight quality‐of‐life domains assessed. Key points Participants in both the intervention and control groups exhibited low diet quality, characterised by low vegetable intake, high saturated fat and sugar intake. The intervention group showed a greater reduction in daily added sugar intake when compared with the control group. The intervention group showed improvements in six of the eight quality‐of‐life domains assessed, with low‐to‐medium effect sizes.