An inflexible adherence to food rules mediates the longitudinal association between shape/weight overvaluation and binge eating.

Understanding factors that account for the persistence of binge eating is necessary for developing effective early intervention and treatment approaches. The cognitive-behavioral model of eating disorders proposes that judgements of self-worth contingent upon weight and shape encourage adoption of multiple demanding rules related to food, eating and dieting, in turn increasing vulnerability to binge eating. However, there is limited longitudinal evidence supporting this hypothesized sequence of events.