The Need to Expand the Binge Eating Disorder Criteria
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Authors
Streppone, Stephanie
Issue Date
2002
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study focuses on clarifying the ambiguous definition of a binge as used in the current DSM-IV provisional criteria for binge eating disorder. Both subjective and objective binge eaters were compared on measures of self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, anxiety, and depression. Participants in this study met all the criteria for binge eating disorder, except they differed on the "...large amount of food" criterion and were therefore separated into the categories of objective and subjective binge eaters. The objective category consisted of people who, when evaluated, actually ate large amounts of food. The subjective category consisted of people who just felt as if they had eaten large amounts, however evaluations indicated their binge as not being large. Currently, subjective binge eaters would not be considered for the diagnosis as it stands. A comparison was made by using a Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and results indicated no differences between groups on each of the psychological measures. This suggests that subjective binge eaters experience similar amounts of psychological distress as compared to objective binge eaters. Such information points to the ambiguity of the " ... large amount of food" diagnostic criterion and leads one to believe that the subjective experience should be considered in the diagnosis.