An exploratory study to subtype obese binge eaters by personality traits.
BACKGROUND
Obesity and binge eating disorder (BED) are prevalent conditions that severely affect the quality of life of many people in developed countries, but an effective treatment remains elusive. Personality traits have been studied extensively in this population, leading to different, and at times conflicting, results. Subtyping BED people along these features could add to our knowledge of the disorder.


METHODS
We applied a two-step cluster analysis, followed by bootstrapping validation, to the Temperament and Character Inventory scores of 462 subjects affected by obesity and BED or subthreshold BED.


RESULTS
We found two clusters of subjects; however, the categorization in clusters 1 and 2 did not appear to strictly overlap with the distinction between BED and subthreshold BED. The first cluster showed higher harm avoidance and a lower self-directedness. Cluster 1 patients had higher depression, higher eating impulsivity, greater problems with their body image and poorer quality of life than cluster 2 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results seem to confirm the heterogeneity of the binge eater population and suggest the importance of harm avoidance and self-directedness to subtype these subjects. These results could generate exploratory works regarding personality in obese people with BED to discover more targeted treatments.
'Rita Levi Montalcini' Neuroscience Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Paolo
P
Leombruni
Giuseppe
G
Rocca
Secondo
S
Fassino
Filippo
F
Gastaldi
Barbara
B
Nicotra
Sara
S
Siccardi
Luca
L
Lavagnino
D000328:Adult; D056912:Binge-Eating Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology; D002605:Character; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament