Binge Eating Disorder: Shape, Weight, and Psychological Factors
This paper reviews five peer-reviewed studies on Binge Eating Disorder (BED), synthesizing their findings on the psychological and social factors that contribute to and sustain the condition. The reviewed sources examine body image shame, self-criticism, depression, and overvaluation of shape and weight, as well as comparative analyses of BED and obesity. The paper also addresses clinical treatment approaches, including rapid response to medication and self-help therapies, and explores the role of attachment anxiety and Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy in reducing both disordered eating and social difficulties among women with BED. Together, the studies suggest that effective treatment must address emotional, relational, and cognitive dimensions of the disorder.
- Introduction and Overview: Scope and purpose of the literature review
- Body Image Shame, Self-Criticism, and Depression: Duarte et al. findings on shame and binge eating
- Comparative Body Image Disturbance in BED and Obesity: Ahrberg et al. comparison of BED and obesity
- Clinical Treatment and Rapid Response: Grilo et al. on medication and self-help outcomes
- Attachment Anxiety and Group Psychotherapy: Maxwell et al. on social anxiety and BED
- Implications for Prevention and Treatment: Keating et al. on therapeutic attachment change
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper synthesizes five distinct empirical and review sources coherently, connecting their findings across psychological, behavioral, and clinical dimensions of BED.
- It draws meaningful comparisons between studies—for example, linking Maxwell et al.'s findings on social anxiety causation to Keating et al.'s therapeutic outcomes—demonstrating integrative reading rather than isolated summaries.
- The author appropriately critiques the methodological limitations of one source (Ahrberg et al.'s unsystematic literature review), showing evaluative thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates annotated synthesis: each source is not merely summarized but evaluated for its research design, sample, methodology, and contribution to understanding BED. The author connects sources thematically, allowing the review to build toward broader conclusions about prevention and treatment rather than simply listing findings.
Structure breakdown
The paper proceeds source by source, dedicating one to two paragraphs to each study. It opens with psychological factors (shame, self-criticism, body image), moves through comparative and clinical research, and closes with interpersonal and attachment-based findings. The conclusion is implied through the final synthesis of preventative and curative insights drawn from the Keating et al. study.
Introduction and Overview
This paper reviews five peer-reviewed sources that collectively examine the psychological, behavioral, and clinical dimensions of Binge Eating Disorder (BED). The studies address a range of contributing factors — including body image shame, self-criticism, depression, and attachment anxiety — as well as evidence-based treatment approaches. Taken together, they suggest that BED cannot be understood or treated effectively without attending to the emotional and social contexts in which it develops.
Body Image Shame, Self-Criticism, and Depression
The paper from Duarte et al. (2014) explores a number of different facets of behavior and feeling that are associated with Binge Eating Disorder. Specifically, it examines aspects of shame, self-criticism, self-disgust, and depression and anxiety to determine their relationship to binge eating and to one another. This study incorporates original research in the form of written assessments, in which participants completed a variety of surveys with scaled answers indicating how much they agreed with each statement. The authors attempted to identify whether "the association between body image shame (exogenous variable) and binge eating…would be mediated by both self-criticism and depressive symptoms" (Duarte et al., 2014, p. 640).
The population consisted of approximately 400 women, roughly two thirds of whom were college students. The results indicated that all of these factors were in fact related to binge eating, and that self-criticism and shame contributed to depression. The source of self-criticism and shame was dissatisfaction these women had about their bodies — specifically their weight. The paper implies that by addressing these psychological ramifications of binge eating, which can also function as causes, practitioners can help individuals overcome BED and possibly other eating disorders as well.
Comparative Body Image Disturbance in BED and Obesity
The article from Ahrberg et al. (2011) is comparative in nature. The authors explore different aspects of "cognitive-affective, perceptual and behavioural components" (p. 375) of body image by comparing the effects of these factors on the body images of those who are obese with those who suffer from Binge Eating Disorder. It is significant to note that those with BED are more concerned about the shape of their bodies and their weight than those who are obese without BED, even though BED patients "show a similar degree of body discontent to that of obese persons without BED" (Ahrberg et al., 2011, p. 378).
No original research was conducted in this article. Instead, it functions as an extended literature review in which the authors examined numerous articles pertaining to body image disturbance in Binge Eating Disorder and as it applies to obesity. This is noteworthy for several reasons. Articles with original research are typically more insightful than those without it, and literature reviews function best as components of larger independent research projects. Additionally, the authors did not systematically describe their search methodology. The reader does not know what search criteria were included or excluded, or from what databases the articles were drawn. Still, the findings suggest that body image disturbance frequently accompanies Binge Eating Disorder, a conclusion the authors supported by stratifying the disorder in relation to its behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive-affective aspects.
References
Ahrberg, M., Trojca, D., Nasrawi, N., & Vocks, S. (2011). European Eating Disorders Review, 19, 375–381.
Duarte, C., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Ferreira, C. (2014). Escaping from body image shame and harsh self-criticism: Exploration of underlying mechanisms of binge eating. Eating Behaviors, 15, 638–643.
Grilo, C. M., White, M. A., Masheb, R. M., & Gueorguieva, R. (2015). Predicting meaningful outcomes to medication and self-help treatments for binge-eating disorder in primary care: The significance of early rapid response. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Keating, L., Gick, M., Tasca, G. A., Ritchie, K., Balfour, L., & Bissada, H. (2014). Change in attachment to the therapy group generalizes to change in individual attachment among women with binge eating disorder. Psychotherapy, 51(1), 78–87.
Maxwell, H., Tasca, G. A., Ritchie, K., Balfour, L., & Bissada, H. (2014). Change in attachment insecurity is related to improved outcomes 1-year post group therapy in women with binge eating disorder. Psychotherapy, 51(1), 57–65.
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