College students’ definitions of an eating “binge” differ as a function of gender and binge eating disorder status

Abstract

Males and females engage in comparable rates of binge eating, but gender differences in what constitutes a “binge” may contribute to the disproportionate likelihood of females meeting diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder (BED). Using data from one university enrolled in the 2010 Healthy Minds Study, we investigated the differences in “eating binge” definitions as a function of gender, BED status, and their interaction. This sample of 969 undergraduate college students was 64.0% female, and 9.3% (10.7% of women; 6.9% of males) met the screening criteria for BED. Open-ended responses defining a “binge” were coded into psychological/behavioral and food themes. Females with BED were most likely to mention loss of control when defining an eating binge, and relative to males with BED, they were significantly more likely to mention sweet foods; males with BED were significantly more likely to mention pizza. Findings suggest that among those without BED, females mentioned mood, type of food, and engaging in compensatory behaviors significantly more often than males. Results suggests that the diagnostic emphasis on binge eating as involving “loss of control” may lead to a heightened diagnosis of BED among females, yet both genders may experience a comparable weight-related sequelae from binge eating.