Jena S. Tronieri

Summary This study assessed the relationships between binge eating disorder (BED) and eating self‐efficacy in a sample of patients prior to bariatric surgery. The study also examined the extent that BED status accounted for variance in self‐efficacy after controlling for demographic factors (age, sex and race), physical variables (comorbidities and body mass index [BMI]) and depressive symptoms. This was a cross‐sectional study of pre‐surgical data from patients seeking bariatric surgery at a university‐based healthcare system ( N = 98; mean ± SD age of 46.2 ± 12.5 years; BMI of 45.4 ± 7.2 kg/m 2 ; 86.7% female; and 60.2% of patients self‐identified as White). Patients completed the Weight and Lifestyle Inventory (WALI), Beck Depression Inventory‐II (BDI‐II) and Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire. Of the total sample, 15.3% met criteria for BED, 33.7% had subthreshold BED and 51.0% were free of this disorder. In adjusted analyses, total self‐efficacy was significantly lower in patients with subthreshold BED ( B ± SE = −15.88 ± 7.23, p = .03) and individuals with BED ( B ± SE = −35.07 ± 10.23, p = .001) than in those without BED. Patients with BED, compared to those without, had significantly worse scores (in adjusted analyses) on the self‐efficacy subscales of negative emotions ( p = .003), availability of food ( p < .001), social pressure ( p = .004) and positive activities ( p = .03). In patients seeking bariatric surgery, total self‐efficacy scores were significantly lower in patients with BED and subthreshold BED than those without BED. The results suggest that eating self‐efficacy may be an important factor to target in patients with BED who seek bariatric surgery.