engleski

Food craving, impulsivity, and symptoms of binge eating disorder in obese patients.

Introduction: About 10% of obese individuals who take part in obesity treatment suffer from Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Craving for food is positively associated with BED and is considered to be a maintenance factor of obesity, as well as impulsivity trait which predisposes an individual to reduced control and planning capability. Therefore, the relationship of these variables should be investigated in more detail in order to improve obesity treatments. The present study aims to examine the contribution of food craving, body mass index and impulsivity in explaining the symptoms of BED in obese patients. Based on previous research findings, a model of the relationship among these variables was proposed and investigated. In that model food craving is defined as a mediator between body mass index/impulsivity and symptoms of BED. Methods: The research was conducted on a clinical sample of obese patients from the daily hospital for diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic diseases in the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka. A total of 71 patients (70.4% women) were enrolled in the study. The average age of participants was 45.20 years (SD=11.13 ; ranged from 26 to 71 years), and the average body mass index was 41.97 kg/m2 (SD=8.85 ; ranged from 29 to 71 kg/m2). Participants completed the Food Cravings Questionnaire - Trait (Cepeda- Benito, Gleaves, Williams, & Erath, 2000), the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (Whiteside & Lynam, 2001), and the Binge Scale Questionnaire (Hawkins & Clement, 1980). Results: The results showed that 6.25% of subjects have a complete clinical presentation of BED. Furthermore, 41.7% of them have a binge- eating tendency. The results of regression analysis showed that food craving and sensation seeking (component of impulsivity) were significant positive predictors of the symptoms of BED. Food craving had mediating effect on the link between impulsivity and symptoms of BED. The results of regression analyses showed that a higher degree of impulsivity increased the food craving, which in turn had a direct effect on the development of the symptoms of BED. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that special attention should be paid to the identification of those obese patients with increased impulsivity and those who experience high levels of food craving. It is important to teach those obese people how to recognize factors that may make losing body weight difficult, and how to cope with those factors.

obesity, body mass index, impulsivity, craving for food, binge eating

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