BINGE-EATING IN BARIATRIC SURGERY PATIENTS

Objective: Eating behavior, attitudes toward eating and body weight an d shape, and depression were assessed in a sample of 64 morbidly obese gastric bypass surgery candidates. Method: The Beck Depression Invent ory (BDI) the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) were administered at the first preoperative visit. Results: Twenty-five subjects (39%) reported at least one bing e episode per week on average over the 3 months prior to seeking treat ment. Binge eaters had significantly higher TFEQ Disinhibition and Hun ger scores than nonbinge eaters. Binge eaters also differed from nonbi nge eaters in terms of attitudes toward eating, shape, and weight. Dis cussion: A significant number of gastric bypass surgery candidates rep ort binge eating. The findings are consistent with other studies showi ng binge eaters to be a distinctive subgroup of the obese. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.