Perceived Discrimination Is Associated with Binge Eating in a Community Sample of Non-Overweight, Overweight, and Obese Adults

Objective : The present study examined the relationship between experiences of discrimination and occurrence of binge eating among overweight and obese persons, a population which has previously shown elevated rates of binge eating. Methods : Internet-based questionnaires were used to measure frequency and impact of discrimination, binge eating frequency, and emotional eating. Results : Pearson correlation analyses demonstrated significant positive relationships between the measures of discrimination and measures of eating behaviors (r = 0.12-0.37). Regression models significantly predicted between 17 and 33% of the variance of emotional eating scores and frequency of binge eating; discrimination measures contributed significantly and independently to the variance in emotional eating and binge eating. Weight bias internalization was found to be a partial mediator of the relationship between discrimination and eating disturbance. Conclusion : Results demonstrate the relationship of discrimination to binge eating. Weight bias internalization may be an important mechanism for this relationship and a potential treatment target. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg