title: The prevalence of binge eating disorder in a sample of college students in the north of Portugal.
abstract: Binge eating disorder (BED) has important associated comorbidities and has been recently considered as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition. This study investigates the prevalence of BED in a sample of college students using a two-stage design. Between October 2008 and July 2009, 805 students attending a public college campus completed the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns - Revised to screen for possible cases. Eighty-five students meeting key criteria for BED were invited for a second stage interview using the Eating Disorder Examination. At stage 1, 9.6% of the subjects reported binge eating episodes. At stage 2, a prevalence rate of 0.5% for BED was found, and 1% if the criterion for large amount of food was excluded.
authors.affiliation: Psychotherapy and Psychopathology Research Unit, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conceição
authors.forename: Ana Rita
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.forename: Paulo P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056912:Binge-Eating Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: binge eating disorder; college students; prevalence