The role of eating and emotion in binge eating disorder and loss of control eating

Abstract

Objective Binge eating, defined as the consumption of large amounts of food during which a sense of loss of control is experienced, is associated with negative affect. However, there are no data on the experience of loss of control after accounting for the effects of negative affect and caloric intake. Method Nine adult patients with binge eating disorder (BED) and 13 obese non-BED (NBED) participants carried a palmtop computer for seven days, rating momentary mood and sense of loss of control multiple times each day. Electronic food logs were collected once daily. Results After removing the effects of caloric intake and negative affect, a significant group difference was observed for ratings of loss of control between BED and NBED participants. Discussion These findings suggest the experience of loss of control in adults with BED is a salient feature of binge episodes, beyond that explained by caloric intake and momentary affect.

Association between objective and subjective binge eating and psychopathology during a psychological treatment trial for bulimic symptoms

“…Taken together, comprehensively targeting all loss of control eating regardless of episode size (along with related psychopathology) may help improve global outcomes for individuals with BN-spectrum disorders. This may include a concomitant focus on identifying antecedents of subjective binge eating episodes early in treatment, and correcting misperceptions about what constitutes an excessive amount of food (which may be related to subjective feelings of loss of control; Pollert et al, 2013), although further research is needed to understand if there are distinct triggers to objective and subjective binge eating episodes that could be addressed in treatment to achieve these ends.…”

“…It has been argued that loss of control is the core feature accounting for distress and impairment in BN and other disorders involving recurrent binge eating (e.g., binge eating disorder; BED), whereas binge size is better characterized as a marker of excess weight status or as a risk factor for weight gain (Wolfe, Baker, Smith, & Kelly-Weeder, 2009). Yet, it has been difficult to parse out the role of loss of control in objective binge eating because perceptions of loss of control may be confounded by episode size (i.e., loss of control may reflect momentary emotional distress at having consumed an objectively large amount of food; Pollert et al, 2013). Moreover, loss of control has been difficult to operationalize due to inter- and intra-individual differences in the quantity and quality of loss of control eating episodes, as well as unreliable measurement (e.g., poor inter-rater and temporal reliability, particularly for subjective binge eating; Mond, 2013).…”

Characteristics of binge eating disorder in relation to diagnostic criteria

“…In another study that examined BED diagnostic criteria using the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns, loss of control over eating was reported in 84% of the self-referred individuals who reported binge eating or compulsive overeating to be problematic compared with 35% of controls who did not 25. The odds of experiencing loss of control over eating were 3.6 times greater in individuals with BED than in individuals without BED after controlling for affective state and caloric intake, which suggests that loss of control is an inherent component of BED 20. In support of this conclusion, when females with BED were asked to define binge eating, 82% included loss of control 21.…”

“…Among the diagnostic criteria for BED, a sense of loss of control over eating has been shown to be foundational to the BED diagnosis 20–26. In a study on obese females being assessed for bariatric surgery, the frequency of reporting loss of control over eating was higher in participants who self-reported binge eating (75%) than in those who self-reported only overeating (22%) 26.…”

The role of anxiety in binge eating behavior: a critical examination of theory and empirical literature

“…17,41,47,48 Some previous examinations of temporal binge eating patterns have evaluated negative affect broadly, without distinguishing between emotional components (e.g., anxiety, depression). 17,47,49 It may be that binge eating is successful in reducing some emotional components of negative affect (i.e., anxiety) but may exacerbate others (i.e., depression) associated with BED, supporting a trade off theory of affect regulation. 40 Previous research conducted among individuals with BN suggests distinct roles for anxiety and depression in the binge-purge cycle, [50][51][52] however published manuscripts regarding the specific temporal roles of anxiety and depression within the context of BED are largely absent from the literature.…”