The comorbidity of depression and eating dysregulation processes in a diet-seeking obese population: a matter of gender specificity.

OBJECTIVE

To explore gender differences in depression vulnerability among an obese, treatment-seeking population and to discern those components of eating-related phenomena that discriminate the depression-comorbid obese from their noncomorbid counterparts.

METHOD

This sample consisted of 1,184 self-admitted patients enrolled in a residential weight loss program between 1990 and 1995. Subjects were administered several questionnaires including (a) the Beck Depression Inventory, (b) 5-point scales of eating-related foci, and (c) 7-point scales of subject's confidence in their eating control under various circumstances. Data were analyzed via analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and stepwise regression.

RESULTS

Greater depression was accompanied by more disruptive, dysregulatory eating tendencies, and stronger inclination to engage in affectively and socially disrupted eating. Regression results revealed gender-specific predictors of comorbid depression. For obese females, negative-emotion disrupted eating and binge-purge behaviors were prominent predictors of depression. For males, eating induced by experiences of social or physical inadequacy and fasting relating to eating behaviors were the depression-relevant variables.

DISCUSSION

These results are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications for gender-mediated models of obesity-depression comorbidity, and in terms of their clinical significance.