DISORDERED EATING - CAN WOMEN ACCURATELY RECALL THEIR BINGING AND PURGING BEHAVIORS 10 YEARS LATER

Objective: To test women's ability to recall their past binging and pu rging behaviors, Design: Ten-year follow-up study of women who had par ticipated in a cross-sectional survey during college. Subjects: In 198 2, a sample of freshman and senior women at a large university in the Boston area were questioned about their weight, dieting history, bulim ic symptoms, and eating patterns, attitudes, and concerns, In 1992, al l subjects who responded to the 1982 survey were followed up to assess changes in bulimic symptoms and ability to recall past behaviors, Res ults: Among the 476 women who responded to both surveys, the percentag e in 1992 who reported having ever binged and/or purged was less than the percentage in 1982, indicating that the recall of past behaviors w as less than perfect, Denial in 1992 of ever having engaged in the beh aviors ranged from 22% among the women who were self-inducing vomiting in 1982 to 64% among the women who had reported current fasting or st rict dieting in 1982, Recall of past behaviors in 1992 was better amon g the women who had been current bingers or purgers in 1982, Conclusio n: Our results demonstrate that ability to recall past binging and pur ging is only modest, Therefore to better understand the mental and phy sical health consequences of these behaviors this information should b e collected prospectively.