Nocturnal eating in binge eating disorder and matched-weight controls.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of nocturnal eating (getting up out of bed to eat) with overweight, binge eating, and negative mood or anxiety.

METHOD

Forty overweight women diagnosed with binge eating disorder (BED) and 39 overweight controls monitored their nocturnal eating for an average of eight nights.

RESULTS

Seven instances of nocturnal eating were recorded by 6 patients, all of whom were binge eaters. Foods consumed nocturnally tended to be selected from those favored for binge episodes, and reported control over nocturnal eating was low. Patients reported tiredness, but not poor mood or anxiety, at the nocturnal eating episodes.

DISCUSSION

In this sample, nocturnal eating was associated more with eating disorder than overweight. This report should provide the basis of future work to determine whether nocturnal eating should be evaluated and treated among eating disordered or overweight groups of patients.