ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH BINGE-EATING DISORDER

The results of a 1-year posttreatment follow-up of 93 obese women diag nosed as having binge earing disorder (BED) and treated with group cog nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) followed by weight loss treatment are described. The group as a whole maintained both reductions in binge ea ting and abstinence rates fairly well. However, they regained the weig ht lost during treatment. Those who stopped binge eating during CBT ma intained a weight loss of 4.0 kg over the follow-up period. In contras t, those who continued to binge gained 3.6 kg. Twenty-six percent of t hose abstinent after CBT met criteria for BED at follow-up and had gai ned weight, whereas the remaining 74% had lost weight. Stopping binge eating appears critical to sustained weight loss in BED.