Weight and eating concerns in outpatient men and women being treated for substance abuse

This study examined the specific features of weight and eating concerns, and explored gender differences, in a racially diverse group of outpatients (45 men and 39 women) currently being treated for substance abuse but abstinent from substance use. Overweight was prevalent and similarly distributed across gender: 60% of the men and 69% of the women were overweight. Most of the overweight participants did not identify themselves as such. No significant gender differences were observed in terms of the behavioural features of eating disorders: 8% of the men and 11% of the women reported binge eating on at least one day per week; inappropriate weight compensatory behaviours were reported by 8% of the men vs 16% of the women, but the women had significantly higher attitudinal scores than the men. Our findings suggest that, in patients recovering from substance abuse, overweight and features of eating disorders are common in both men and women, and occur in poor and minority groups.