Research on the relationship between anxiety, stress and binge eating

Abstract

Binge eating is specific to the eating disorder spectrum, and it is characterized by fast consuming large amounts of food in a certain period of time, compared to other periods of someone’s life. It is usually accompanied by feelings of unease, sometimes taken to the extreme, regarding body shape or weight. Thus, over time, research has systematically shown a relationship between anxiety, stress and food spectrum disorders. We were interested is measuring the relationship between anxiety and binge eating on one hand, and between stress and binge eating, on the other hand. N=55 participants (all females) were pseudo-randomly selected for the study to respond to 3 scales (Binge Eating Scale, DASS 21-R – Anxiety and Stress Sub-scales). Results show a medium positive correlation between Binge Eating Scale and Anxiety sub-scale of DASS-21R (rs=.39, rs2=0.15, p<0.05, bilateral, confidence interval between 0.05 and 0.65), also a positive medium correlation between Binge Eating Scale and Stress sub-scale of DASS-21R (rs=.32, rs2=0.10, p˂0.05, bilateral, confidence interval between 0.06 and 0.54). The analysis of determination coefficient shows that, with a 95% probability, 15% of the binge eating is caused by anxiety, and 10% of it is caused by stress. The conclusions are upheld by the results that have been found and could make a further contribution regarding the relationship between the food spectrum disorders and the anxiety spectrum disorders.