Eating disorders and disordered eating among patients seeking non-surgical weight-loss treatment in Sweden.

The aim of this cross-sectional descriptive study of 194 Swedish men and women seeking non-surgical weight-loss treatment was to investigate the presence of eating disorders and binge eating symptoms and to compare these two groups of patients with a group without eating disorder- or binge eating symptoms. The groups were compared in regard to co-morbid psychopathology, Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and anthropometric data. Of the total sample, 9.8% fulfilled criteria for any eating disorder. An additional 7.2% indicated binge eating symptoms without having an eating disorder. The three groups were significantly different in regard to psychopathology scales and most HRQL items. Eating disorders and binge eating symptoms are common among patients seeking non-surgical weight-loss treatments in Sweden and both groups showed elevated levels of co-morbid psychopathology and lower HRQL compared to patients without disordered eating. These findings point to the importance of assessing the full range of eating disorder symptoms and disorders as well as HRQL and co-morbid psychopathology before weight-loss treatment, as these factors might affect treatment outcome.