DOES SIZE MATTER FOR BINGE EPISODES OF BULIMIA NERVOSA?

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine if amount of food consumed is clinically meaningful in defining binge-eating episodes within bulimia nervosa.-purging subtype (objective bulimia nervosa-OBN) and women who would meet DSM-IV criteria for bulimia nervosa-purging subtype except that their perceived binge episodes do not involve an objectively large amount of food (subjective bulimia nervosa-SBN). Based on previous research and a pilot study, it is hypothesized that women with OBN and SNB will not differ in levels of Axis I psychopathology or eating pathology. However, women with OBN are predicted to have significantly higher levels of impulsiveness and Axis II, Cluster B Personality disorders compared to women with SBN. Structural clinical interviews and questionnaire assessments will be completed with 40 subjects with OBN and 40 subjects with SBN in order to test the proposed hypotheses. Subjects will be reassessed at 6-month follow-up to determine the predictive validity of distinctions between OBN and SBN in women. Understanding whether size matters in defining binge-eating episodes within bulimia nervosa is crucial in refining the definition and clarifying risk factors of bulimia nervosa.