Binge Eating Scale: Further Assessment of Validity and Reliability1

Validity of the Binge Eating Scale (BES), used to measure binge eating severity in overweight binge eaters, was examined using food records. A sample of 56 nonpurge binge eating women completed the BES and 28‐day food records. Self‐identified binges were classified as subjective when less than 1,000 calories were consumed and as objective when 1,000 calories or more were consumed. Binge severity was measured by total number of binge calories, binge episodes, and binge days over 28 days. BES scores had significant, moderate associations between subjective and objective binge eating severity. In contrast, BES scores were not related to total caloric intake. The BES was unable to distinguish between subjective and objective binge eating, which is essential for diagnostic purposes.