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Binge Eating Scale (BES)

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Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders

Synonyms

Objective binge eating; Loss of control eating

Definition

The binge eating scale (BES) is a 16-item self-report questionnaire designed to capture the behavioral (eight items, e.g., large amount of food consumed), as well as the cognitive and emotional (eight items, e.g., feeling out of control while eating, preoccupation with food and eating), features of objective binge eating (OBE) in overweight and obese adults (Gormally et al. 1982). For each item, respondents are asked to select one of three or four response options, coded zero to two or three, respectively. Individuals’ scores are summed and range from 0 to 46, with higher scores indicating more severe binge eating problems. Marcus et al. (1988) created clinical cutoff scores for the BES representing none-to-minimal (<17 total score), moderate (18–26), and severe (>27) binge eating problems. Importantly, the BES was created before binge eating disorder (BED) was officially recognized as a psychiatric diagnosis (American...

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References and Further Reading

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM 5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. bookpointUS.

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  • Celio, A. A., Wilfley, D. E., Crow, S. J., Mitchell, J., & Walsh, B. T. (2004). A comparison of the binge eating scale, questionnaire for eating and weight patterns-revised, and eating disorder examination questionnaire with instructions with the eating disorder examination in the assessment of binge eating disorder and its symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36(4), 434–444.

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  • Gormally, J., Black, S., Daston, S., & Rardin, D. (1982). The assessment of binge eating severity among obese persons. Addictive Behaviors, 7(1), 47–55.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Studies, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue Street NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA

    Elizabeth W. Cotter

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Colorado State University, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Nichole R. Kelly

  3. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA

    Nichole R. Kelly

Authors
  1. Elizabeth W. Cotter
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  2. Nichole R. Kelly
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth W. Cotter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Tracey Wade

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Cotter, E.W., Kelly, N.R. (2016). Binge Eating Scale (BES). In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_9-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_9-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-087-2

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Binge Eating Scale (BES)
    Published:
    23 February 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_9-2

  2. Original

    Binge Eating Scale (BES)
    Published:
    17 November 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_9-1

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