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Using the eating disorder examination to identify the specific psychopathology of binge eating disorder
Author(s) -
Wilfley Denise E.,
Schwartz Marlene B.,
Spurrell Emily B.,
Fairburn Christopher G.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(200004)27:3<259::aid-eat2>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - psychopathology , overweight , binge eating disorder , bulimia nervosa , anorexia nervosa , psychology , eating disorders , binge eating , psychiatry , clinical psychology , disordered eating , body mass index , medicine
Objective The clinical features of binge eating disorder (BED) are not well established. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of the specific psychopathology of BED as compared to anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) is warranted. This comparison was the aim of the present study. Method Detailed ratings from an investigator‐based interview, the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE), were compared across three groups of female patients: those with BED, AN, and BN, as well as normal‐weight and overweight control subjects. Results When comparing BED to AN and BN, patients with BED had lower levels of restraint, eating concerns comparable to AN patients but lower than BN patients, and weight and shape concerns comparable to BN patients but higher than AN patients. Significantly more eating disorder psychopathology was found for BED patients as compared to the overweight controls on all bar the EDE restraint subscale. On the majority of individual EDE items, BED patients' scores were similar to those of AN and BN patients, including importance of shape and weight in self‐evaluation and preoccupation with shape and weight. No significant relationship was found between BED patients' degree of overweight and eating psychopathology. Discussion Our findings support the status of BED as an eating disorder and suggest that the elevated EDE scores reflect the combined impact of being objectively overweight and having disordered cognitions and behaviors about eating, shape, and weight. © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 27: 259–269, 2000.