Night eating syndrome: Evaluation of two screening instruments

Participants enrolled in a 4-week randomized clinical trial for obese and overweight persons who self-identified as night snackers were administered a structured clinical interview, a night eating screening question, and the NESQ. Treatment outcomes included adherence and weight loss. Results showed that night eating syndrome diagnoses were not associated with treatment outcomes. The screening question had adequate sensitivity but poor specificity. The night eating questionnaire was positively correlated with increasingly stringent definitions of night eating syndrome. Night eating syndrome is not the equivalent of night snacking. The definition of night eating syndrome must be expanded to include a sleep disturbance component accompanied by night eating.