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Use of extreme weight control behaviors with and without binge eating in a community sample: Implications for the classification of bulimic‐type eating disorders
Author(s) -
Mond Jonathan,
Hay Phillipa,
Rodgers Bryan,
Owen Cathy,
Crosby Ross,
Mitchell James
Publication year - 2006
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/eat.20265
Subject(s) - bulimia nervosa , psychopathology , eating disorders , psychology , binge eating , psychosocial , psychiatry , clinical psychology , binge eating disorder
Objective and Method: To inform the classification of bulimic‐type eating disorders not meeting formal diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa (BN), levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment associated with subjective and objective bulimic episodes (SBEs and OBEs) and purging and nonpurging methods of weight control were examined in a large community‐based sample of women ( n = 5,232). Results: Participants who reported recurrent bulimic episodes had significantly higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment than those who did not and this was the case whether the episodes were objective or subjective. Similarly, participants who reported the use of extreme weight control behaviors had higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment than those who did not, and this was the case whether purging or nonpurging behaviors were employed. The combination of bulimic episodes and extreme weight control behaviors was associated with particularly high levels of eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment. Conclusion: The combination of bulimic episodes, objective or subjective, and extreme weight control behaviors, purging or nonpurging, is significant in terms of impairment in psychosocial functioning among individuals affected by eating disorders not meeting formal diagnostic criteria for BN. The combination of SBEs and extreme weight control behaviors, in particular, warrants further investigation. © 2006 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2006.