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Momentary predictors of binge eating episodes and heavy drinking episodes in individuals with comorbid binge eating and heavy drinking

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The co-morbidity of binge eating and heavy drinking (BE + HD) is a serious concern due to the high prevalence rates and associated elevated severity. Clarifying the momentary factors that increase risk for binge eating and heavy drinking among BE + HD is important for expanding theoretical models of BE + HD and informing treatment recommendations. The current study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to compare the momentary processes maintaining binge eating between BE + HD and individuals with binge eating only (BE-only) and to identify the momentary risk factors for binge eating episodes and heavy drinking episodes among BE + HD.

Methods

Participants (BE + HD: N = 14; BE-only: N = 37) were adults with clinically significant binge eating who completed between 7 and 14 days of EMA prior to treatment.

Results

The presence of food and within-day dietary restraint predicted higher odds of binge eating for both groups. Among BE + HD, the presence of alcohol and dietary restraint increased risk for subsequent binge eating and subsequent heavy drinking, and the absence of food increased risk for subsequent heavy drinking.

Conclusion

These results offer preliminary support for treatment interventions for BE + HD that focus on reducing dietary restraint and teaching strategies for urge management in situations with palatable food or alcohol. Future research should study the maintenance mechanisms of BE + HD with larger, more diverse samples and using study design approaches with more experimenter control (i.e., laboratory experiments).

Level of evidence

Level IV, multiple time series without intervention.

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Funding

This work was supported by internal grants (PI: Stephanie Manasse) from the Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Sciences Center at Drexel University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Sciences Center, Drexel University, 3201 Chestnut Street, Stratton 238, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Megan L. Wilkinson, Stephanie M. Manasse, Paakhi Srivastava & Adrienne S. Juarascio

  2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Megan L. Wilkinson & Adrienne S. Juarascio

  3. Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Ashley Linden-Carmichael

Authors
  1. Megan L. Wilkinson
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  2. Stephanie M. Manasse
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  3. Paakhi Srivastava
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  4. Ashley Linden-Carmichael
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  5. Adrienne S. Juarascio
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Contributions

All authors contributed to study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation were completed by MW. All authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Megan L. Wilkinson.

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Competing interests

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethics approval

The study was approved and overseen by the Drexel University Institutional Review Board (IRB Protocol # 2005007836), and all participants provided informed consent and were compensated for their participation.

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Wilkinson, M.L., Manasse, S.M., Srivastava, P. et al. Momentary predictors of binge eating episodes and heavy drinking episodes in individuals with comorbid binge eating and heavy drinking. Eat Weight Disord 27, 3145–3156 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01444-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01444-0

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