Diabetes Care, Vol 17, Issue 10 1197-1199, Copyright © 1994 by American Diabetes Association
A comparison of eating behaviors in newly diagnosed NIDDM patients and case-matched control subjects
J Kenardy, M Mensch, K Bowen and SA Pearson
Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
OBJECTIVE--To determine whether disordered eating may be problematic in
non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND
METHODS--We contrasted the eating behaviors and attitudes in 50 newly
diagnosed NIDDM patients with 50 age-, sex-, and weight-matched control
subjects. RESULTS--Although 14% of diabetic subjects versus 4% of
nondiabetic subjects reported episodes of binge eating (P < 0.10), there
was no difference between diabetic and nondiabetic subjects in the
prevalence with which they met criteria for binge eating disorder. Diabetic
patients with a history of binge eating were significantly heavier, had
younger age at diagnosis, and had more problems with eating in response to
situational and emotional cues than did diabetic patients who did not
binge. CONCLUSIONS--No support was found for greater prevalence of binge
eating disorder in newly diagnosed NIDDM patients than in matched
nondiabetic control subjects.