A significant number of patients suffering from a mood disorder gain weight either due to the medication side effect and/or the lack of exercise. Binge Eating disorder has a high comorbidity with mood disorders. Both disorders have been found separately to have a high negative impact ob the patients quality of life

The aim of the study was to investigate the possible impact of binge eating symptomatology in the quality of life of obese patients suffering from a mood disorder.

We approached 117 obese patients treated for mood disorder (unipolar and/or bipolar). All patients were recruited from a free of charge anti-obesity program specifically designed for mental patients that have gained weight. Each participant filled in the WHO Quality of Life Brief Scale (WHOQOL-Bref), a questionnaire on Binge Eating symptomatology based on DSM-IV research criteria, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS).

According to DSM-IV criteria 40 patients were suffering from Binge Eating Disorder. The comparison between Binge Eating and non Binge Eating group (t-test) showed that the former group had higher SPAS measurements (p=0.007) and lower WHOQOL-Bref measurements in the psychological (p=0.01) and physical (p=0.006) domains. All other measurements as well as age, body mass index and gender did not show any statistical significant difference between the two groups.

The presence of Binge Eating symptomatology might worsen patients quality of life especially when they are already carrying the burden of a mood disorder and obesity.

Lack of insight is a major obstacle in treating patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). In everyday practice, clinicians often describe as delusional AN patients who strongly deny their emaciation.

Despite their diagnostic and clinical significance the level of delusionality of body image beliefs in eating disorders (EDs) has not yet been systematically investigated.

In the present study we assessed for the first time the delusionality of body image beliefs in AN subtypes and BN. We hypothesized that body image beliefs would be delusional only in a subgroup of AN patients and that the patients with restrictive AN would demonstrate the higher levels of delusionality.

We used the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS) to assess the degree of delusionality of body image beliefs in seventy-two participants: 39 with AN and 33 with BN. We also investigated the relationship between body image delusionality and other clinical characteristics in AN.

Only patients with anorexia nervosa (28.8%) had delusional body image beliefs, whereas overvalued ideas appeared to be frequent in both AN and BN. Body image delusionality in AN was associated with restrictive eating pathology, early onset of the disorder and body dissatisfaction.

Results suggest that a delusional variant of anorexia nervosa represents the one end of a continuum of insight among patients with eating disorders. Delusionality constitutes a clinical feature independent of weight loss or eating pathology and thus a distinct component of AN psychopathology, contributing to treatment resistance and illness chronicity.