Abstract
Objective: This preliminary study examined nighttime eating behavior among patients with bulimia nervosa (BN). Method: The nighttime eating behavior of 31 females (age: 17–49 yr) enrolled in an outpatient cognitive-behavioral treatment study for BN was assessed with the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ); patient subgroups were compared on the NEQ, Beck Depression Inventory, and Eating Disorder Inventory, and effect sizes were derived. Results: Nighttime eating behavior was common. Sixteen patients (52%) reported evening hyperphagia, nocturnal ingestions of food, or both night eating behaviors. Clinically interesting patterns emerged on symptom assessments, although effect sizes were small. Discussion: The nighttime eating behavior of individuals with eating disorders should be examined further. These preliminary findings suggest that current conceptualizations of the night eating syndrome are limited by research which has often excluded patients with primary diagnoses of eating disorders.
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Lundgren, J.D., Shapiro, J.R. & Bulik, C.M. Night eating patterns of patients with bulimia nervosa: A preliminary report. Eat Weight Disord 13, 171–175 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327503
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327503