The assessment of binge eating disorder in obese women: A comparison of the binge eating scale with the structured clinical interview for the DSM-IV

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Portuguese version of the Binge Eating Scale (BES) to assess binge eating disorder (BED) in a clinical sample. The BES is a self-reported instrument developed to identify binge eaters within the obese population. The scale, at the cutoff point of 17, was compared with the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV—Patient version (SCID-I/P). It was administered to 178 obese Brazilian women, aged 18 to 60 years, seeking treatment for obesity at an outpatient clinic. To assess the test–retest reliability, 121 individuals filled the instrument again 15 days later. The Portuguese version of BES showed a sensitivity of 97.8%, a specificity of 47.7%, a positive predictive value of 66.7% and a negative predictive value of 95.3%. The test–retest reliability, measured by kappa statistics, was 0.66. Cronbach's alpha was 0.89. These results suggest that the BES is valid as a screening instrument for BED in obese Brazilian women seeking treatment for obesity.