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Weight and age do not account for a worse executive functioning among BED-obese patients

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Research has demonstrated impaired executive functioning among Binge Eating Disorder (BED) patients that could be influenced by age and weight. We aim to compare decision-making, set-shifting and central coherence between BED-obese patients (BED-Ob), non-BED-obese patients (non-BED-Ob), and normal-weight healthy controls (NW-HC) without the influence of these variables.

Methods

Overall, 35 BED-Ob, 32 non-BED-Ob and 26 NW-HC participants completed the Iowa Gambling Task, the Trail Making Test and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test.

Results

BED-Ob patients showed higher cognitive impairment compared to NW-HC on decision-making, set-shifting, visual attention and memory.

Conclusions

BED-Ob patients have an impaired cognitive profile on decision-making, set-shifting, visual attention and memory but not impaired central coherence. As all groups were aged-matched and no significant differences between BED-Ob and non-BED-Ob participants were evident, our results demonstrate that this impairment is independent from weight/age, pointing out that it is BED itself to account for inefficiencies in cognitive functioning.

Level of evidence

Level III, case-control study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy

    Matteo Aloi, Marianna Rania, Renato de Filippis & Cristina Segura-Garcia

  2. Center for Clinical Research and Treatment of Eating Disorders, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Mater Domini, Catanzaro, Italy

    Matteo Aloi, Marianna Rania, Renato de Filippis & Cristina Segura-Garcia

Authors
  1. Matteo Aloi
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  2. Marianna Rania
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  3. Renato de Filippis
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  4. Cristina Segura-Garcia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Segura-Garcia.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Approval from the Ethical Committee of University Hospital Mater Domini at Catanzaro was obtained before data were collected for the current study.

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Patients gave their informed consent before any research procedure took place.

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Aloi, M., Rania, M., de Filippis, R. et al. Weight and age do not account for a worse executive functioning among BED-obese patients. Eat Weight Disord 25, 373–377 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0608-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0608-9

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