The prevalence of binge eating disorder in a sample of college students in the north of Portugal

Binge eating disorder (BED) has important associated comorbidities and has been recently considered as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition. This study investigates the prevalence of BED in a sample of college students using a two-stage design. Between October 2008 and July 2009, 805 students attending a public college campus completed the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns - Revised to screen for possible cases. Eighty-five students meeting key criteria for BED were invited for a second stage interview using the Eating Disorder Examination. At stage 1, 9.6% of the subjects reported binge eating episodes. At stage 2, a prevalence rate of 0.5% for BED was found, and 1% if the criterion for large amount of food was excluded.
This research was supported by a Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia /Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal research grant to the last author (PTDC/PSIPCL/099981/2008), and a doctoral grant to the third author (SFRH/BD/44293/2008), and post doctoral grant to second author (SFRH/BPD/78896/2011).
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