title: Abnormal eating behaviour in people with a specific phobia of vomiting (emetophobia).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore the eating behaviour in people with a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV), and whether those identified as restricting their food had a greater degree of psychopathology and impairment than those who do not restrict their food.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 94 participants with SPOV. They were divided into those who reported restricting their food (SPOV-R) (n = 32) because of fear of vomiting and those who did not restrict their food (SPOV-NR) (n = 62).
  
  
  RESULTS
  People with SPOV frequently have abnormal eating behaviours to reduce the perceived risk of vomiting. Only 3.7% had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 17.5, and 8.5% had a BMI of less than 18.5. The SPOV-R group had significantly higher frequency of psychopathology and abnormal eating behaviours than the SPOV-NR group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abnormal eating behaviour, BMI, and the degree of food restriction are important factors in the assessment of SPOV.
authors.affiliation: NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK. David.Veale@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veale
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Nell
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ellison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014839:Vomiting / Q000523:psychology*