Oneyear follow up of cognitive-behavioral therapy for obese individuals with binge eating disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 65:343–347

The results of a 1-year posttreatment follow-up of 93 obese women diagnosed as having binge eating disorder (BED) and treated with group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) followed by weight loss treatment are described. The group as a whole maintained both reductions in binge eating and abstinence rates fairly well. However, they regained the weight lost during treatment. Those who stopped binge eating during CBT maintained a weight loss of 4.0 kg over the follow-up period. In contrast, those who continued to binge gained 3.6 kg. Twenty-six percent of those abstinent after CBT met criteria for BED at follow-up and had gained weight, whereas the remaining 74 % had lost weight. Stopping binge eating appears critical to sustained weight loss in BED. Binge eating disorder (BED) poses a complex clinical problem because the disordered eating is usually combined with overweight and often with frank obesity ( Bruce & Agras, 1992; Marcus, Wing, & Lamparski, 1985; Telch, Agras, & Rossiter, 1988). Hence, the syndrome is accompanied by the medical complications of obesity and the comorbid psychopathology associated with the eating disorder. ( Marcus et al., 1990; Yanovski, Nelson, Dubbert, & Spitzer, 1993). Treatment outcome, therefore