Generic and eating disorder-specific impairment in binge eating disorder with and without overvaluation of weight or shape. (September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Harrison, Carmel; Mond, Jonathan; Rieger, Elizabeth; Rodgers, Bryan
• Is Part Of: Behaviour research and therapy. Volume 72(2015)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Subjects: Binge eating disorder -- Diagnostic criteria -- Quality of life; Cognitive therapy -- Periodicals; Psychotherapy -- Periodicals; 616.891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.07.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0005-7967

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: We sought to elucidate the nature and extent of impairment in quality of life among individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) with and without the overvaluation of weight or shape ("overvaluation"). Method: Subgroups of women – probable BED with overvaluation (n = 102), probable BED without overvaluation (n = 72), obese individuals reporting no binge eating ("obese control", n = 40), and "normal weight" individuals reporting no binge eating ("healthy control, " n = 40) – were recruited from a community-based sample in which individuals with eating disorder symptoms were over-represented. They were compared on measures of eating disorder psychopathology and generic and disease-specific measures of quality of life. Scores on these measures among individuals with BED receiving specialist treatment were also considered. Results: Participants with BED and overvaluation had high levels of eating disorder psychopathology and impairment in both generic and disease-specific quality of life, comparable to those of BED patients receiving specialist treatment, and significantly higher than all other subgroups, whereas participants with BED in the absence of overvaluation did not differ from obese controls on any of these measures. Conclusion: The findings provide further evidence for the need to consider reference to overvaluation among the diagnostic criteria for BED. The relative merits of the inclusion of overvaluation as a diagnostic criterion or as a diagnostic specifier for BED warrant greater consideration. Highlights: Where overvaluation was present, individuals with BED had marked impairment in quality of life. In the absence of overvaluation, impairment in quality of life was minimal. This was the case for both generic and eating-disorder-specific quality of life measures. The findings have implications for clinical practice and for classification schemes.