Research Article

Recurrent binge eating (RBE) and its characteristics in a sample of young women in Germany

  1. Simone Munsch1,*,
  2. Eni Becker2,
  3. Andrea Meyer1,
  4. Silvia Schneider1,
  5. Jürgen Margraf1

Article first published online: 5 FEB 2007

DOI: 10.1002/erv.783

Issue

European Eating Disorders Review

European Eating Disorders Review

Volume 15, Issue 5, pages 385–399, September/October 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Munsch, S., Becker, E., Meyer, A., Schneider, S. and Margraf, J. (2007), Recurrent binge eating (RBE) and its characteristics in a sample of young women in Germany. European Eating Disorders Review, 15: 385–399. doi: 10.1002/erv.783

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

  2. 2

    Department of Clinical Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands

*Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 60/62a, 4055 Basel, Switzerland.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 AUG 2007
  2. Article first published online: 5 FEB 2007

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Keywords:

  • recurrent binge eating (RBE);
  • population-based;
  • epidemiology;
  • comorbidity with mental disorders;
  • general psychopathology;
  • eating disorders

Abstract

Objective

To examine the characteristics of recurrent binge eating (RBE) in a non-treatment-seeking sample from the general population. RBE individuals are described in terms of socio-economic status, general psychopathology, and comorbidity rates of mental disorders.

Method

Participants were 1877 German females aged 18–24 years from a population-based epidemiological study.

Results/Discussion

The point prevalence of RBE in our sample was 0.9% (N = 17). Compared to healthy women, subjects with RBE suffered more often from comorbid mental disorders and also exhibited more general psychopathology: They were similar to women with other mental disorders and other eating disorders (EDs). RBE seems to be a syndrome of clinical significance itself and might be an important risk factor for the development of further EDs, especially binge eating disorder (BED) and other mental disorders. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

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