Frequency of binge eating episodes in bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder: Diagnostic considerations
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Objective: In DSM‐IV, to be diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa (BN) or the provisional diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder (BED), an individual must experience episodes of binge eating is “at least twice a week” on average, for 3 or 6 months, respectively. The purpose of this review was to examine the validity and utility of the frequency criterion for BN and BED. Method: Published studies evaluating the frequency criterion were reviewed. Results: Our review found little evidence to support the validity or utility of the DSM‐IV frequency criterion of twice a week binge eating; however, the number of studies available for our review was limited. Discussion: A number of options are available for the frequency criterion in DSM‐V, and the optimal diagnostic threshold for binge eating remains to be determined. © 2009 American Psychiatric Association. Int J Eat Disord 2009
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Data assessing 'subthreshold' BN indicate that individuals who binge eat at a frequency of once weekly are comparable to those individuals who do so more frequently.
“Data assessing ‘subthreshold’ BN indicate that individuals who binge eat at a frequency of once weekly are comparable to those individuals who do so more frequently [87].”
From Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders in the ICD-11: an international perspective on key changes and controversies (2020) · cites this paper as [87]
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- Authors
- Wilson, G. T., & Sysko, R.
- Affiliations
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wilson, G. Terence
- Venue
- International Journal of Eating Disorders
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-07-16
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 603-610
- ISSN
- 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-108X
- PMC
- PMC3864806
- OpenAlex
- W2049593366
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 2.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH015144)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Keywords
- bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, binge eating frequency, diagnostic criteria, DSM-IV, DSM-V, diagnostic thresholds, eating disorder diagnosis
- MeSH terms
- Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Time Factors, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating Disorder
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