Binge eating partially mediates the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and psychological distress in obese treatment seeking individuals.

Introduction: We compared the binge eating pathway linking body image dissatisfaction (BID) and psychological distress of obese adults entering and not entering psychological treatment for their weight problems.

Method: 90 obese participants seeking an integrated treatment (OB-IT) and 87 obese participants seeking only medical treatment (OB-MT) for their weight problems completed questionnaires on BID, binge eating and psychological well-being.

Results: Only in the OB-IT group, binge eating behaviors mediated the relationship between BID and psychological distress.

Conclusions: Both BID and binge eating behaviors need to be addressed in the psychological and medical treatment for obesity to enhance psychological well-being.