FEEDING LABORATORY STUDIES IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS - A REVIEW

Objective: The authors review the available literature on feeding lab studies in individuals with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and bin ge eating disorder. Method: Studies were grouped by the research group s which have conducted such studies since these studies have tended to cluster in certain research settings, using specific methodologies at each sites. Results: The results of this review indicate that althoug h there are several inherent limitations in this type of research, var ious groups of investigators have demonstrated that eating disorder pa tients will engage in pathological eating behaviors in structured labo ratory settings and that results can be obtained fairly consistently. Also interesting clinically significant differences have emerged acros s groups. Subtle differences in technique, such as the instructions re garding eating behavior, probably result in different behavioral respo nses. Discussion: Feeding laboratory studies provide useful informatio n that can validate, suggest, or challenge established clinical assump tions and diagnostic criteria. However, there are limitations to these methodologies. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.