THE PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF BINGE-EATING IN A BRITISH COMMUNITY SAMPLE OF WOMEN WITH A HISTORY OF OBESITY

Objective: To estimate the frequency of binge eating and binge eating disorder and their correlates in a sample of women with a history of o besity. Method: A group of women who had been found in a previous comm unity study to have a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 were studied using self-report measures (n = 74) and interview (n = 62). R esults: One subject met criteria for binge eating disorder, while 24% reported binging. Subjects who reported binging were significantly mor e likely to have a past history of depressive illness. Discussion: Pre valence of binge eating, binge eating disorder, and psychopathology wa s broadly in keeping with that found in North America. In addition, th ere were nonsignificant trends towards a positive family history of ob esity, of childhood obesity, of early onset of dieting, of excessive c oncern about weight and shape, and a recent history of weight reductio n. Further study is required to elucidate the causes of binge eating i n the obese. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.