The Effects of Depression and Impulsivity on Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder

Abstract

Objective: The aim of study was to evaluate depression and impulsivity in obese people with binge eating disorder (BED). Method:The study included 149 obese study participants who were compared to 151 non-obese healthy controls. They were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-I), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11). Results:The prevalence of BED was 47.6% in the obese study participants. Obesity with BED was more common in female participants. Depressive disorder was detected in 41.2% of the obese subjects. There was no significant difference between BED (+) and BED (-) groups with respect to depressive disorder (p>0.05).The cognitive impulsivity and non-planning activity scores of the depressive group were significantly higher than for the participants without depression (p<0.05). The cognitive impulsivity scores of depressive obese participants were significantly higher than for obese participants without depression (p<0.05).Conclusion: Obesity appears to be associated with depression rather than impulsivity. Impulsivity was found in obese people with binge-eating specifically. This study suggests that depression and/or binge eating may be mediating factors for the outcome of obesity.

The Relationship between Binge Eating Disorder and Suicidality: A Systematic Review

“…Overweight and obese individuals are also at high risk of suicide, but data on the role of BED in predicting suicide risk in this clinical population are inconsistent, as the samples examined by the studies reviewed herein were too small to be statistically significant (Jenkins et al, 2002 ; Annagur et al, 2015 ; Fichter and Quadflieg, 2016 ).…”

“…Among the studies investigating the associations between suicidality and BED, seven papers (Ackard et al, 2003 , 2011 ; Swanson et al, 2011 ; Carano et al, 2012 ; Izydorczyk and Mazur, 2012 ; Portzky et al, 2014 ; Forrest et al, 2017 ) reported data on SI, whereas 16 papers reported data on SA and suicide completion in individuals with BED (Ackard et al, 2003 , 2011 ; Grucza et al, 2007 ; Chen et al, 2008 ; McElroy et al, 2011 , 2016 ; Swanson et al, 2011 ; Carano et al, 2012 ; Izydorczyk and Mazur, 2012 ; Pisetsky et al, 2013 ; Portzky et al, 2014 ; Runfola et al, 2014 ; Suokas et al, 2014 ; Annagur et al, 2015 ; Forrest et al, 2017 ; Welch et al, 2016 ). By examining the results of these studies, it was observed that the prevalence of SI varied between 26.3% (Ackard et al, 2003 ) and 51.7% (Portzky et al, 2014 ), and that the rates of SA and suicide completion varied between 2.3% (Suokas et al, 2014 ) and 34% (McElroy et al, 2016 ).…”

“…In a study that compared 149 obese participants with 151 non-obese healthy controls, Annagur et al ( 2015 ) found that a history of admission to psychiatric clinics and of depressive disorder were more prevalent among the obese group independently of the presence of BED. Lifetime SA was more prevalent among the obese group with BED (55.6%), whereas SA was present in 33.3% of obese group patients without BED.…”

“…Only a few studies have investigated the personality factors in BED patients with suicidal behaviors. Although the data are contrasting, personality factors seem to identify the subgroups of patients with BED at higher risk of suicide (Carano et al, 2012 ; Pisetsky et al, 2013 ; Runfola et al, 2014 ; Annagur et al, 2015 ). Recognizing this may improve psychotherapy treatment for suicide risk, as shown by Chen et al ( 2008 ) in a study that, though investigating a small sample, underlines how treating patients with BED and borderline personality disorder reduces suicide risk.…”

Food-related behaviours among individuals with overweight/obesity and normal body weight

“…It is worth stressing that among people with excessive body mass, a high percentage (from 10 to 47.6%) are individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) and with bulimia [ 15 , 55 – 57 ], but as mentioned earlier, eating disorders are also common in individuals with normal weight [ 6 , 53 ]. There are many theories that emphasise the importance of emotions in eating disorders and persistence of excessive weight (including Emotional Reward Theory, Emotion Avoidance Model) [ 58 , 59 ].…”