Examination of binge eating disorder criteria in an obese patient population in Paris area

Abstract

BED was classified as an eating disorder in 2013 with the publication of the DSM-5. Prevalence of BED is up to 4% in the general population and higher than 70% in overweight and obese individuals. In obese individuals, binge eating has been reported as compensatory behaviour to cope with psychological distress. The aim of this study is to examine the details of BED criteria of obese patients in a Parisian hospital. 29 obese patients (69% women; mean BMI=38.7kg/m2) were interviewed to test each criterion of BED. Bivariate Wilcoxon test has been used to compare binge-eaters to non-binge-eater for continuous variables, and Chi2 test for categorical data. A total of 34.5% were diagnosed with BED. No difference in age and BMI has been found between patients with and without BED. Overall, 68.9% experienced binge-eating episodes. Moreover, among participants without BED, 52.9% experienced binge-eating episodes but did not meet the following criteria for BED: distress related to eating behaviours (30%), frequency of binge episodes (35%), and absence of restricting or purging behaviours (75%). Results show that subclinical BED is frequent in obese patients experiencing binge-eating episodes. A large proportion of obese patients experience binge episodes associated to restricting or purging behaviours, meaning that they could meet the criteria for bulimia nervosa. The observed prevalence of BED in patients seeking help in nutrition poles in France is lower from BED prevalence in overweight and obese individuals in the US. The present results should be understood in line with a small and non-representative sample.