Loss of control eating in treatment-seeking severely overweight adolescents

This study examined whether the frequency and recency of reported loss of control (LOC) eating would distinguish overweight treatment-seeking adolescents. Participants were 99 severely overweight adolescents (37 boys, 62 girls; mean age 14.3 years; mean BMI 41.3 kg/m2) categorized into 1 of 4 groups based upon responses to the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE): binge eating disorder (BED; 4%), LOC eating less than twice weekly but at least once in the last 3 months (RECENT-LOC; 25.3%), LOC eating at least once ever in lifetime (EVER-LOC; 12.1%), or no LOC (NE; 58.6%). The BED group reported higher EDE scores, more depressive symptoms and anxiety than other groups. Compared to the NE group, the RECENT-LOC group reported higher EDE scores and anxiety. Parents of participants in the RECENT-LOC and EVER-LOC groups reported that their children exhibited more externalizing problems than teens in the NE group. While overweight treatment-seeking adolescents with BED are distinguishable from teens without BED, LOC eating at sub-threshold levels is associated with greater eating-related and general psychopathology.