Apple-Shaped Women More Likely To Binge-Eat, Study Says

Apple-shaped women--or women who carry more fat in their arms and torso--may be more likely to binge eat, according to a recent study.

Researchers at Drexel University found that women with this body shape as opposed to those with a pear shape--or more fat in their lower body--were more likely to experience a "loss of control" when eating. They were also more likely to report being less satisfied with their bodies, which might explain the loss-of-control eating, researchers say. 

During the study, researchers collected data from over 300 young women who were followed for two years. Participants were assessed at the beginning of the study for disordered eating behaviors via standardized clinical interviews in which they self-reported any experiences of loss of control eating. 

"Our results suggest that centralized fat deposition increased disordered eating risk above and beyond other known risk factors," lead study author Laura Berner, said in a statement.  "The specificity of our findings to centralized fat deposition was also surprising. For example, a one-unit increase in the percentage of body fat stored in the abdominal region was associated with a 53 percent increase in the risk of developing loss-of-control eating over the next two years, whereas total percentage body fat did not predict loss-of-control eating development."

The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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