Cross-cultural perspectives and experiences of food addiction

Researchers have recently proposed the concept of food addiction, postulating that certain foods can provoke addictive symptoms, similar to drugs of abuse. Current understanding of food addiction is, however, limited by a paucity of qualitative research examining the validity of this construct, and of cross-cultural research examining how food addiction is experienced in non-Western societies. The present cross-cultural qualitative study will address these issues by comparing and contrasting experiences and definitions of food addiction between Brazilian and Canadian individuals. Individual interviews will be conducted with a sample of 15-20 Brazilian patients in treatment for food addiction. Themes will be generated in order to clarify how Brazilian patients conceptualize and experience food addiction, and contrasted with results from a similar study conducted with Canadian participants. Elucidating how individuals define and experience food addiction is key in order to reach meaningful and cross-culturally valid conceptualizations and treatment options.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kristin von Ranson

Student:

Emilie Lacroix

Partner:

Discipline:

Psychology

Sector:

University:

University of Calgary

Program:

Globalink