CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH BINGE-EATING IN OBESE FEMALES - A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in clinical characteristics of o bese female participants based on presence and degree of binge eating behavior. DESIGN: Descriptive comparison of various clinical character istics of obese women diagnosed with binge eating disorder (BED) asses sed by semi-structured interview to those for similar weight participa nts reporting subthreshold BED and those who do not binge eat. SUBJECT S: 185 healthy women seeking obesity treatment (age: 20-55 y, BMI:28.4 -51.5 kg/m(2)). MEASUREMENTS: Baseline self-report questionnaires incl uded the Weight and Eating Patterns (QEWP), Eating Disorders Questionn aire (EDO), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); clinical interviews inclu ded the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Structured Clinica l Interview for DSM-III-R-Patient Version (SCID-P). RESULTS: In compar ison to other obese women, obese participants meeting full BED criteri a report an earlier onset of binge eating, increased food cravings, in creased diet pill use, decreased fasting, greater fear of gaining weig ht, increased body perception disturbance, and increased depressive sy mptomatology and general psychopathology. CONCLUSIONS: Obese women wit h BED report greater eating-related and general psychopathology than n on-binge eating disordered women of comparable weight, Although endors ement of food cravings unrelated to hunger was associated with binge e ating diagnosis, the role of dietary restriction among this population remains unclear and requires further investigation, Theoretical and c linical implications that binge eating episodes for individuals with B ED may be related to negative affect states and increased dietary disi nhibition are discussed.