Effects of binge eating on satiation, satiety, and energy intake of overweight children.
BACKGROUND
Children who report episodes of binge eating gain more weight than do children not reporting binge eating. However, how binge eating affects children's food intake at meals is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We compared the energy intake and postmeal satiety of children with and without a history of binge eating during buffet meals.


METHODS
Sixty overweight children aged 6-12 y were categorized into those reporting past binge-eating episodes (n = 10) and those reporting no such episodes (n = 50). Children selected lunch twice from a multiple-item, 9835 kcal, buffet meal: after an overnight fast and after a standardized breakfast. Children ate ad libitum, until they reported they were full. The main outcome measures were energy intake during meals and duration of postmeal satiety, after adjustment for covariates, including age, race, sex, socioeconomic status, and body composition.


RESULTS
After the overnight fast, children in the binge-eating group consumed more energy [x (+/-SD): 1748 +/- 581 compared with 1309 +/- 595 kcal; P = 0.04] and exhibited a shorter satiety duration (194 +/- 84 compared with 262 +/- 89 min; P = 0.03) than did children in the non-binge-eating group. After the standardized breakfast, binge-eating children reported a shorter satiety duration (75 +/- 62 compared with 132 +/- 62 min; P = 0.01) and consumed more energy at the postbreakfast meal (1874 +/- 560 compared with 1275 +/- 566 kcal; P = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
The ability to consume large quantities of palatable foods, coupled with decreased subsequent satiety, may play a role in the greater weight gain found in binge-eating children.
Mirch
Margaret C
MC
Growth and Obesity, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892-1103, USA.
McDuffie
Jennifer R
JR
Yanovski
Susan Z
SZ
Schollnberger
Merel
M
Tanofsky-Kraff
Marian
M
Theim
Kelly R
KR
Krakoff
Jonathan
J
Yanovski
Jack A
JA
D002032:Bulimia; D002648:Child; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight; D019518:Postprandial Period; D012527:Satiation; D012528:Satiety Response; D013997:Time Factors