Source
NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK. David.Veale@kcl.ac.uk.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to explore the eating behaviour in people with a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV), and whether those identified as restricting their food had a greater degree of psychopathology and impairment than those who do not restrict their food.
METHOD:
We recruited 94 participants with SPOV. They were divided into those who reported restricting their food (SPOV-R) (n = 32) because of fear of vomiting and those who did not restrict their food (SPOV-NR) (n = 62).
RESULTS:
People with SPOV frequently have abnormal eating behaviours to reduce the perceived risk of vomiting. Only 3.7% had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 17.5, and 8.5% had a BMI of less than 18.5. The SPOV-R group had significantly higher frequency of psychopathology and abnormal eating behaviours than the SPOV-NR group.
DISCUSSION:
Abnormal eating behaviour, BMI, and the degree of food restriction are important factors in the assessment of SPOV. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.