An experimental investigation of DSM-IV binge-eating criteria

The influence of quantity, duration, and loss of control on binge judgments and their semantic meaning was explored in binge eaters, controls, and psychologists.

Vignettes of an actress eating were rated on binge and semantic differential scales in a 2 (quantity) x 2 (duration) x 2 (loss of control) experimental design.

Participants rated episodes involving a large quantity of food or loss of control as higher on the binge scale. Episodes were rated as more binge-like if a large amount of food was consumed over a short (vs. long) interval and when loss of control was present (vs. absent). The binge-eating group rated vignettes depicting a large quantity of food and loss of control as unacceptable and weak.

Group, quantity, and loss of control appear to exert the principal influences on binge judgments. The implications for the identification of binge and the diagnosis of binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa are explored.