Binge eating behaviours and food cravings in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine condition in women, is often anecdotally associated with binge eating behaviours and food cravings; however there is a paucity of research. This study aimed to report the prevalence of binge eating and food cravings and their relation to obesity risk in women with PCOS. Participants completed an online survey including the Bulimia Investigatory Test, Edinburgh, Food Cravings-Trait Questionnaire and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire revised-18. The study included obese (n = 340), overweight (n = 70) and lean (n = 45) women with PCOS and lean healthy women (n = 40). Sixty percent of obese women with PCOS were categorised with binge-eating behaviour, with 39% presenting with clinically significant behaviour. Obese women with PCOS presented with high mean food cravings-trait scores (131.6 ± 28.9) that were significantly greater compared with lean (114.0 ± 34.9) and overweight women with PCOS (120.1 ± 29.5; p < 0.001). Multiple regression exploring relations between eating styles and adiposity explained 59% of the variance in binge eating symptom scores in women with PCOS (F = 173.8; p < 0.001, n = 463): significant predictors were food cravings total score (beta = 0.52; p < 0.001), emotional eating score (beta = 0.16; p < 0.001), BMI (beta = 0.13; p < 0.001) and uncontrolled eating score (beta = 0.10; p < 0.01). Compared with lean healthy women, lean women with PCOS exhibited significantly higher binge eating symptom scores (10.9 ± 7.8 versus 7.4 ± 6.0; p < 0.05), though similar total food craving scores (114.0 ± 34.9 versus 105.6 ± 26.6: NS). This study is the largest, to date, to robustly report that a high proportion of women with PCOS exhibit binge eating behaviours. We recommend screening women with PCOS for binge eating behaviours to help inform the choice of weight management approach for this clinical population

Eating, sleeping and sexual function disorders in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…PCOS is also associated with an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), placing these women at a further increased risk for long‐term cardio‐metabolic disorders . Obesity commonly underlies these diagnoses, and it is reasonable that each condition contributes to the development of the other . Like PCOS, OSA is associated with depressive disorders; it is plausible that this could contribute to decreased quality of life in PCOS patients .…”

“…23 Obesity commonly underlies these diagnoses, and it is reasonable that each condition contributes to the development of the other. 23,24 Like PCOS, OSA is associated with depressive disorders; it is plausible that this could contribute to decreased quality of life in PCOS patients. 25 There is a lack of evidence regarding practice guidelines in screening these women for OSA or other sleep disorders, making a better understanding of its prevalence essential.…”

Increased prevalence of eating disorders, low self-esteem, and psychological distress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a community-based cohort study

“…It has been proposed that women with PCOS may have increased risk of EDs, on the basis of several survey-based studies that indicated that women with PCOS had higher scores for abnormal eating behavior or attitude toward eating when compared with women without PCOS (12,16,17). Studies with women who have PCOS reported the prevalence for any EDs in this population ranged from 2.8% to 23.3%, but the methods for diagnosis varied from questionnaires to specialist psychiatric evaluation (18,19).…”

Easy-going, rational, susceptible and struggling eaters: A segmentation study based on eating behaviour tendencies

“…Uncontrolled eating has been shown to correlate positively with BMI (Cornelis et al, 2014), consumption of energy dense foods in middle-aged adults (De Lauzon et al, 2004) and energy intake and central adiposity in mothers (Jaakkola et al, 2013). Larger meal portion sizes in general populations (Spence et al, 2016), binge eating behaviours in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (Jeanes et al, 2017)…”

“…The TFEQ-R18 captures tendencies for cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating. Previous studies have mostly examined each of these tendencies independently and have often focused on specific population categories, such as obese people or women (Anglé et al, 2009;Elfhag & Linné, 2005;Jaakkola, Hakala, Isolauri, Poussa, & Laitinen, 2013;Jeanes et al, 2017;Järvelä-Reijonen et al, 2016;Nevanperä et al, 2012). We argue that going beyond the traditional approach, observing eating behaviour in a more holistic way and in the general population, would enable the development of more effective approaches (such as interventions and products) to overcome eatingrelated problems.…”