title: Executive functioning and behavioral impulsivity of young women who binge eat.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the link between binge eating, executive functioning, and behavioral impulsivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty women who reported engaging in weekly binge eating in the absence of regular compensatory behaviors and 66 women with no history of binge eating completed several self-report questionnaires and a brief neuropsychological battery, including the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Conner's Continuous Performance Task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that groups did not differ in executive functioning after controlling for depression, anxiety, body mass, general intelligence, and psychotropic medication use. Correlation analyses suggest that individuals who endorse more frequent binge eating might have greater difficulties thinking flexibly or shifting attention. Individuals who binge eats are also more likely to behave impulsively, but only for emotional reasons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although this study is unable to determine whether these cognitive and behavioral factors precede or follow binge-eating episodes, outcomes have implications for treatment and prevention.
authors: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. nrkelly@vcu.edu
authors: Nichole R
authors: NR
authors: Kelly
authors: Cynthia M
authors: CM
authors: Bulik
authors: Suzanne E
authors: SE
authors: Mazzeo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D056344:Executive Function; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007360:Intelligence; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012718:Set, Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult