Body image and sexual behavior of obese women with and without binge eating disorder

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most studies that relate eating disorders to sexuality concerns anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and there are few studies about sexuality and binge eating disorder (BED) together. OBJECTIVE: To verify the presence of sexual dysfunction, excessive sexual drive and changes in the perception of body image in obese women, in addition to compare obese women with and without BED on these aspects. METHODS: There were two groups of 20 obese women each, with BED of 29.80 ± 6.15 years old and BMI of 35.12 ± 4.59 kg/m², and without BED of 34.70 ± 9.62 years old and 37.27 ± 2.89 kg/m². RESULTS: In relation to body image, the two instruments used showed significant difference between groups, with the women with BED are feeling less attractive (13.6 + 3.2 vs. 15.6 ± 2.3, p = 0047 ), more fat (55.2 ± 4.6 vs. 50.0 ± 3.6, p = 0.001) and less physically fit (14.1 ± 2.3 vs. 16.5 ± 3.9, p = 0036), as results of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire (BAQ). The score of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) also showed the worst condition for carrying BED (146.05 ± 22.63 vs. 114.47 ± 19.50, p = 0.000). The sexual behavior showed no association with obesity or statistically significant difference between groups, showing only a trend of higher risk for sexual dysfunction among women with BED, as results of the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS). DISCUSSION: Obese women with BED showed more often changes in body image and should be better investigated for the presence of sexual dysfunctions.