The Effects of Depression and Impulsivity on Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder

Objective: The aim of study was to evaluate depression and impulsivity in obese people with binge eating disorder (BED).

Method: The study included 149 obese study participants who were compared to 151 non-obese healthy controls. They were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-I), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11).

Results: The prevalence of BED was 47.6% in the obese study participants. Obesity with BED was more common in female participants. Depressive disorder was detected in 41.2% of the obese subjects. There was no significant difference between BED (+) and BED (-) groups with respect to depressive disorder (p>0.05). The cognitive impulsivity and non-planning activity scores of the depressive group were significantly higher than for the participants without depression (p<0.05). The cognitive impulsivity scores of depressive obese participants were significantly higher than for obese participants without depression (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Obesity appears to be associated with depression rather than impulsivity. Impulsivity was found in obese people with binge-eating specifically. This study suggests that depression and/or binge eating may be mediating factors for the outcome of obesity.