Eating-Disordered Behaviors, Body Fat, and Psychopathology in Overweight and Normal-Weight Children

This study examined eating-disordered pathology in relation to psychopathology and adiposity in 162 non- treatment-seeking overweight (OW) and normal weight (NW) children, ages 6-13 years. Participants experienced objective or subjective binge eating (S/OBE; loss-of-control eating), objective over-eating (OO), or no episodes (NE). OW children experienced significantly higher eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors than NW children and more behavior problems than NW children: 9.3% endorsed S/OBEs, 20.4% reported OOs, and 70.4% reported NEs. OW children reported S/OBEs more frequently than did NW children (p = .01), but similar percentages endorsed OOs. S/OBE children experienced greater eating-disordered cognitions (ps from < .05 to < .01) and had higher body fat (p < .05) than OOs or NEs. OOs are common in childhood, but S/OBEs are more prevalent in OW children and associated with increased adiposity and eating-disordered cognitions.