title: Night eating syndrome: evaluation of two screening instruments.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether night eating syndrome was associated with treatment outcomes during a brief weight loss intervention for self-identified night snackers, and to evaluate the diagnostic utility of a screening question and the Night Eating Syndrome Questionnaire (NESQ) for the detection of night eating syndrome. Participants enrolled in a 4-week randomized clinical trial for obese and overweight persons who self-identified as night snackers were administered a structured clinical interview, a night eating screening question, and the NESQ. Treatment outcomes included adherence and weight loss. Results showed that night eating syndrome diagnoses were not associated with treatment outcomes. The screening question had adequate sensitivity but poor specificity. The night eating questionnaire was positively correlated with increasingly stringent definitions of night eating syndrome. Night eating syndrome is not the equivalent of night snacking. The definition of night eating syndrome must be expanded to include a sleep disturbance component accompanied by night eating.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Research, Wayne State University, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI, USA. jillonv@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jillon S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vander Wal
authors.forename: Sandia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Klurfeld
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: McBurney
authors.forename: Nikhil V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Dhurandhar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome