Scale Description

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) was originally developed by Gormally et al. (1982) to assess the affective and cognitive aspects as well as the behavioral manifestations of binge eating problems in obese individuals. This scale has been widely used to measure the severity of binge eating, as a screening tool, and for evaluating treatment outcomes. It evaluates 16 different aspects of binge eating, covering behavioral and emotional features related to binge eating episodes.

Objective

The primary objective of the BES is to assess the severity of binge eating symptoms. It is used both for clinical evaluation of binge eating and for research purposes. The scale aims to identify the presence and severity of binge eating episodes by assessing behaviors such as consuming large quantities of food, loss of control during eating, and feelings of guilt that follow.

Data Analysis and Usage

Reliability:The data analysis of the BES revealed a Cronbach’s alpha value of .88, indicating good internal consistency. All items showed moderate to high item-total correlations (above .42, except for item 13, which showed .27), indicating the quality and suitability of the items. Removing any item would not increase the internal consistency of the scale.
Temporal Stability:The BES showed a high positive correlation between the first and second administrations (r = .84). Results from t-tests for dependent samples indicated no significant differences between the first (M = 6.43; SD = 6.54) and second (M = 6.47; SD = 6.88) assessment moments (t(29) = .05, p = .962).
Concurrent Validity:The BES demonstrated high sensitivity (81.8%) and specificity (97.8%) in detecting clinically significant binge eating cases. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was .90, confirming the excellent precision of the scale in detecting clinically significant cases of binge eating.

Calibration

The BES is scored on a range from 0 to 46, with higher scores indicating more severe binge eating symptoms. The scale’s results can be categorized into three severity groups based on established cut-off scores:
No or minimal binge eating: score ≤ 17
Moderate binge eating: score 18-26
Severe binge eating: score ≥ 27

References

Gormally, J., Black, S., Daston, S., & Rardin, D. (1982). “The assessment of binge eating severity among obese persons”. Addictive Behaviors, 7(1), 47–55.
Dezhkam, M., Moloodi, R., Mootabi, F., & Omidvar, N. (2009). Standardization of the Binge Eating Scale among Iranian Obese Population. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 4, 143-146.