Night Eating Syndrome Subtypes: Differences in Binge Eating and Food Addiction Symptoms

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the current study was to examine differences in binge eating and food addiction symptoms between NES latent subtypes: evening hyperphagia with nocturnal ingestions (EHNI), evening hyperphagia-only (EHO; without nocturnal ingestions), and nocturnal ingestions-only (NIO; without evening hyperphagia). It was hypothesized that the EHNI group would report more binge eating behaviors and more food addiction symptoms than both the EHO and NIO groups. Further, it was hypothesized that the EHO and NIO groups would differ with the EHO group reporting more binge eating behaviors and the NIO group reporting more food addiction symptoms. Methods Participants completed measures online relating to night eating, binge eating, and food addiction symptoms. Responses to the NEQ (Allison et al., 2008) were used to create an EHNI group (n = 65), an EHO group (n = 32), and a NIO group (n = 69). ANOVAs were conducted to examine between-group differences on disordered eating symptoms. Results The results indicated that participants in the EHNI group reported more severe binge eating and food addition symptoms than those in the EHO and NIO groups. However, there were no significant differences in binge eating or food addiction between the EHO and NIO groups. Conclusion Individuals who meet both NES core criteria (evening hyperphagia and nocturnal ingestions) appear to be at a higher risk for experiencing more severe binge eating symptoms and meeting suggested criteria for food addiction diagnosis. Implications concerning assessment and future research on NES typology and comorbid disordered eating pathology are discussed. Level of Evidence: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study