Cognitive function in morbidly obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder
Section snippets
Cognitive function in individuals with and without binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder (BED) involves the consumption of an objectively large amount of food with an associated loss of control over eating, in the absence of extreme compensatory weight control behaviors [1]. Binge eating disorder occurs in approximately 2% of the general population and up to 30% of those in weight loss treatment programs [2]. Persons with BED are more likely to be obese and have elevated rates of mental health comorbidities, including suicide attempts [3], [4], [5].
Loss of
Methods
All procedures were approved by the appropriate institutional review boards, and all participants provided written informed consent before study involvement.
Demographic and medical characteristics
Of the 131 participants in our sample, 41 met criteria for a lifetime history of either subthreshold BED or full BED. The average age of the sample was 42 years (SD, 10.8 years) and average BMI was 45.0 kg/m2 (SD, 6.42 kg/m2). Independent-samples t tests and χ2 found no differences in age, BMI, sex, sleep apnea, diabetes, hypertension, current major depressive disorder, current generalized anxiety disorder, or current bulimia nervosa (see Table 1).
No differences in prevalence of clinical impairment
Clinically meaningful levels of cognitive
Discussion
The goal of the current study was to examine possible cognitive test differences in a sample of morbidly obese persons with and without BED. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have long been associated with neurocognitive deficits [21], [22], [23], and 2 recent studies found that persons with BED demonstrate reduced performance on tests of executive function [9], [10]. Although both groups evidenced high rates of cognitive impairment, no differences in executive
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Data collection supported by DK075119. Manuscript supported in part by HL089311.