Night eating patterns and chronotypes: a correlation with binge eating behaviors.

This cross-sectional study examined the association between the morningness/eveningness dimension and eating patterns. The sample consists of 100 subjects who were screened at a nutrition clinic and was composed of 77% women; mean age was 39.5 (±11.7) years; and 66% were overweight. Significant bivariate correlations were found between the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) total score and the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). The NEQ and BES were also significantly correlated. Body mass index (BMI) was correlated with the NEQ and BES, but it was not a confounding variable as no associations were found between the MEQ and BMI. To control for potential multicollinearity effects among variables, we also used multivariate regression analysis in which the values of the correlation coefficients were adjusted. Only the BES remained statistically associated with the MEQ. In conclusion, these results suggest that the study of chronotype may be an important issue to be considered when characterizing disordered eating. This study serves as an impetus for examining circadian intake patterns in more detail between those with binge eating disorder (BED) and night eating syndrome (NES) to help discern these important nosological questions.

Circadian eating and sleeping patterns in the night eating syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the eating and sleep-wake patterns of persons with the night eating syndrome (NES) with those of matched control subjects. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Forty-six overweight/obese NES subjects (mean age 43.3 +/- 9.8 years; 32 women) and 43 similar controls (mean age 39.0 +/- 11.0 years; 28 women) wore wrist actigraphs for 7 days and completed sleep and food diaries at home. RESULTS: There was no difference between the total energy intake of the NES and the control subjects, but the pattern of energy intake differed greatly. Relative to control subjects, the temporal pattern of food intake of night eaters was delayed. Food intake after the evening meal, as a proportion of the 24-hour intake, was more than 3-fold greater in NES subjects than in controls (34.6 +/- 10.1% vs. 10.0 +/- 6.9%, p = 0.001). NES subjects had sleep onset, offset, and total sleep duration times comparable with those of controls. NES subjects reported more nocturnal awakenings than did controls (1.5 +/- 1.0 per night vs. 0.5 +/- 0.5; p < 0.001), and their actigraphically monitored arousals occurred earlier during sleep (at 128 minutes after sleep onset vs. 193 minutes, p = 0.01). NES subjects consumed food on 74% of the awakenings vs. 0% for the controls. DISCUSSION: The pattern of cumulative energy intake of the night eaters suggests a phase delay in energy consumption relative to sleep-wake times. NES may involve a dissociation of the circadian control of eating relative to sleep.

Two forms of disordered eating in obesity: binge eating and night eating.

OBJECTIVE: Binge eating disorder (BED) and the night eating syndrome (NES) have been linked to obesity. This review summarizes their characteristics, implications of their diagnoses and treatment outcomes. METHOD: Selective review of the literature on BED and NES. RESULTS: BED was proposed as a distinctive disorder on the basis of two large multisite studies in the early 1990s. It is associated with more severe and earlier onset of obesity, earlier onset of dieting and greater psychopathology. It shows large placebo responses and reduction of bingeing in patients on waiting-list controls. Traditional weight reduction programs reduce bingeing at least as well as psychological treatments designed for this purpose. NES is a stress-related eating, sleeping and mood disorder that is associated with disordered neuroendocrine function. It follows a characteristic circadian pattern and has responded to an agent that enhances serotonin function. CONCLUSIONS: BED responds well to weight reduction programs. It is proposed that this diagnosis be used as a marker for psychological problems that deserve treatment in their own right. NES is an eating, sleep, and mood disorder with distinctive behavioral and neuroendocrine characteristics. Studies of treatment for NES are in their infancy but selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) show promise.