Abstract

Purpose of this study is to demonstrate severity of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is different from that of general obesity and to examine the effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on BED-prone college students. To do this, the following scales were used: Binge Eating Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Social Discomfort Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Study I investigated pathological eating behaviors as well as psychological distress in three different groups: two obese groups with and without BED and a healthy control group. Ten participants for each group were selected: two obese groups among 50 obese women from a weight clinic in South Korea and the healthy control group with normal weight among a college population in South Korea. The findings showed that BED patients had more pathological eating behaviors and psychological distress than the other two groups. Most BED patients want weight-loss treatment when they seek help. However, the study suggests that treatment for BED should first be directed at the disordered eating and associated psychopathology rather than the obesity itself, even though BED patients are found in obese population. In Study II, 24 BED-prone college students among 600 college students were randomly assigned to CBT(eight weekly sessions during active treatment) or to no-treatment control group. At the end of the active treatment, binge eating was significantly reduced among those actively treated relative to those on no-treatment control group. Furthermore, CBT produced significant or at least marginally significant improvements in all psychological variables (self-esteem, impulsiveness, and social discomfort) relative to baseline, and they even improved more at the 6-week follow-up. The results support the efficacy of CBT as a preventive intervention for BED-prone college students. In spite of its several limitations, the present study clarifies the distinctiveness of BED from obesity in psychological factors along with pathological eating problems and recommends CBT as an effective treatment for BED-prone individuals.