Food addiction and binge eating disorder are linked to shared and unique deficits in emotion regulation among female seeking bariatric surgery

BackgroundProblematic eating behaviors can indicate obesity-related problems. Food addiction (FA) is not classified as an official diagnosis. However, given the many commonalities between FA and binge-eating disorder (BED) within the context of obesity, it is imperative to conduct a comparative investigation. The current study aimed to identify overlapping and distinctive features in emotion dysregulation as an underlying mechanism and emotional eating as a clinical feature among four groups of females with obesity seeking bariatric surgery.MethodsData on emotion dysregulation and emotional eating were derived from the total 128 Females with obesity seeking bariatric surgery (M-age = 38.91 +/- 10.59, M-BMI = 42.10 kg/m(2) +/- 4.43) divided into four groups: those with FA (n = 35), BED (n = 35), BED + FA (n = 31) and a control group of individuals with obesity only (OB; n = 27), using well-established measures.ResultsRegarding descriptive statistics, the BED + FA group showed the highest levels of emotional dysregulation (M = 111.09) and emotional eating (M = 46.80), while the OB group acquired the lowest scores (M = 70.44 and M = 27.29, respectively). Univariate analyses of variance revealed significant differences between the four groups in terms of emotion dysregulation F(3, 124) = 24.63, p < .01 and emotional eating F(3, 124) = 26.26, p < .01. All of the emotion dysregulation domains revealed significant differences too. Pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni post hoc tests did not reveal any significant differences between BED + FA and BED groups, while all of our other hypotheses regarding this matter were confirmed.ConclusionsThe study found that individuals with obesity and comorbid BED exhibit greater emotional dysregulation compared to those with OB or FA, indicating a need to assess BED in individuals with obesity. Emotion dysregulation may be linked to increased BED and FA, but those with BED seem more affected by limited access to emotion regulation strategies. These findings support the notion that PEBs are associated with emotion dysregulation and underscore the need for tailored interventions that target emotion regulation skills before and after bariatric surgery. Plain English summaryBED and addictive-like eating are associated with wide degrees of psychopathology among individuals with obesity who are candidates for bariatric surgery and have several overlapping characteristics. Emotional dysregulation is a key mechanism in addiction disorders and BED, which may be obesity-maintenance factors. The current study examined overlapping and distinctive features of emotion dysregulation and emotional eating among 128 females with obesity who were seeking bariatric surgery. They were divided into four groups: FA, BED, BED + FA, and a healthy control group with OB. In general, female surgery candidates endorsing problematic eating behavior reported greater deficits in emotional regulation and emotional eating. Emotional dysregulation was more severe in those with obesity and comorbid BED compared to those in the OB group. These findings suggest that examining eating disorder symptomatology, especially a diagnosis of BED, is warranted in this population.

Automated summary

This study aimed to compare food addiction and binge-eating disorder in terms of emotion dysregulation and emotional eating. The study found that individuals with obesity and comorbid BED exhibit greater emotional dysregulation compared to those with obesity only or food addiction, indicating a need to assess BED in individuals with obesity.