Gender differences in individuals with obesity and binge eating disorder: A retrospective comparison of phenotypical features and treatment outcomes

Objective: Phenotypical comparisons between individuals with obesity without binge eating disorder (OB) and individuals with obesity and comorbid binge eating disorder (OB + BED) are subject to ongoing investigations. At the same time, gender-related differences have rarely been explored, raising the question whether men and women with OB and OB + BED may require differently tailored treatments.Method: We retrospectively compared pre- versus post-treatment data in a matched sample of n = 180 men and n = 180 women with OB or OB + BED who received inpatient treatment.Results: We found that men displayed higher weight loss than women independent of diagnostic group. In addition, men with OB + BED showed higher weight loss than men with OB after 7 weeks of treatment.Conclusions: The present findings add to an emerging yet overall still sparse body of studies comparing phenotypical features and treatment outcomes in men and women with OB and OB + BED; implications for further research are discussed.Clinical Trial Registration: The study was prospectively registered with the German Clinical Trial Register as part of application DRKS00028441.