title: Obese people who seek treatment have different characteristics than those who do not seek treatment.
abstract: A group of obese people who had not sought treatment, an obese group who had sought treatment in a professional, hospital-based program, and normal-weight controls (N = 547) were compared in regard to level of psychopathology, binge eating, and negative emotional eating. Because the groups differed significantly on several demographic variables, 3 demographically matched groups were created and compared (n = 177, 59 per group). In the matched subgroups, obese people who had sought treatment reported greater psychopathology and more binge eating than did those who had not sought treatment or did normal-weight controls. Both obese groups (including those who had not sought treatment) endorsed more symptoms of distress, negative emotional eating, overeating, difficulty resisting temptation, and less exercise than did normal-weight controls.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fitzgibbon
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Stolley
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kirschenbaum
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D004035:Diet Therapy; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015431:Weight Loss