Determinants of binge eating disorder among normal weight and overweight female college students in Korea.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to describe the clinical features of binge eating disorder (BED) in normal weight and overweight undergraduate Korean women.

METHODS: 117 overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 ) and 346 normal weight (18 kg/m2  ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m2 ) undergraduate Korean women completed questionnaires to assess for BED. Their emotional eating behaviors, binge eating-related behaviors, a spectrum of compulsive behaviors such as substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychological profiles were evaluated through personal interviews and questionnaires. The features of those with BED were compared to those without BED in the overweight and normal weight groups.

RESULTS: Both normal weight and overweight BED women had higher levels of functional impairment, eating disorder psychopathology including emotional and external eating behaviors, and neuroticism than their non-BED counterparts. In the normal weight group, BED women had more frequent alcohol consumption and obsessive-compulsive symptoms than non-BED women. In the overweight group, BED women had higher levels of depression and lower extraversion than non-BED women.

CONCLUSIONS: BED is associated with global functional impairment and mental health problems. Thus, the association with high functional impairments and psychiatric comorbidities suggest that people with BED may benefit from treatment.

LEVEL III: Evidence obtained from well-designed case-control analytic studies, from more than one center.