Depression, stress and body fat are associated with binge eating in a community sample of African American and Hispanic women

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among depressive symptoms, stress and severity of binge eating symptoms in a community sample of African American and Hispanic or Latina women. Method Women (African American, n = 127; Hispanic or Latina, n = 44) completed measures of body composition, stress, depression, and binge eating. Results Scores on a depressive symptom scale indicated that 24.0 % of participants exhibited clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. Mean binge eating scores were below the threshold for clinically diagnosed binge eating (12.99 +/- 7.90). Mean stressful event scores were 25.86 +/- 14.26 and the average stress impact score was 78.36 +/- 55.43. Linear regression models found that body composition, stress impact score, and being classified as having clinically significant levels of depression were associated with severity of binge eating symptoms. Conclusion Higher levels of percent body fat, a CES-D score >= 16 and higher WSI-Impact scores were associated with greater severity of binge eating symptoms.