title: Comparison between normal-weight and overweight bulimic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Body mass index has been often reported in the normal range in bulimic patients and the literature considering the association between bulimia nervosa (BN) and overweight is scant. The aim of the present study was to compare two groups of normal and overweight BN patients, carefully assessed for several clinical and psychopathological features.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present cross-sectional study, a consecutive series of 124 female BN patients was divided into two groups according to their BMI: normal-weight group (with BMI ≤25; N = 91) and overweight group (with BMI >25; N = 33). The two clinical groups were evaluated and compared, to detect similarities and differences in terms of psychopathological and clinical features. Patients were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Emotional Eating Scale, the Body Uneasiness Test and the Symptom Checklist 90.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A relevant percentage of BN clinical patients were overweight. Normal-weight and overweight subjects did not differ in terms of eating disorder-specific psychopathology, with the exception of body uneasiness, which was higher in BN overweight patients. Among normal-weight patients, a significant correlation between emotional eating and binge eating frequency was observed, while this correlation was absent in BN overweight patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results stress the relevance of being overweight in a significant percentage of bulimic subjects and suggest that clinicians should be aware of the relevance of being overweight in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Unit, Careggi Teaching Hospital, Largo Brambilla 3, 50139, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rotella
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castellini
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Montanelli
authors.forename: Carlo Maria
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Rotella
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faravelli
authors.forename: Valdo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ricca
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
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