Practical Considerations for Using the Eating Disorder Examination Interview with Adolescents

Figures & data

Table 1 EDE Subscales and Corresponding Item Content

Subscales	Content Assessed by EDE Items
Dietary restraint	Trying to consciously cut back on overall amount eaten, regardless of success Going 8 or more waking hours without eating Desire for one’s stomach to be completely empty Trying to avoid eating foods one likes, regardless of success Trying to follow definite rules regarding eating (eg, calorie limits, time limits, avoiding certain foods), regardless of success
Eating concern	Preoccupation about food, eating, or calories Fear of losing control over one’s eating Concerns about being seen eating by others (outside of binge-eating episodes) Eating in secret (outside of binge-eating episodes) Feeling guilty after eating (outside of binge-eating episodes)
Weight concern (“the number on a scale”)	Dissatisfaction with one’s weight Desire to lose weight or weigh less Hypothetical reaction to weighing oneself exactly once a week for four weeks Preoccupation about weight or shape* Extent to which weight influences overall self-evaluation
Shape concern (“the way one’s body looks in the mirror”)	Dissatisfaction with one’s shape Preoccupation about weight or shape* Extent to which shape influences overall self-evaluation Fear of gaining weight Discomfort with seeing one’s body Discomfort with others seeing one’s body Feeling fat Definite desire to have a flat stomach

Notes: *Item loads onto two subscales. The score for each subscale is computed by averaging the ratings of the items corresponding to that subscale. The Global score is then computed by averaging the scores of the four subscales.

Table 2 Behaviors Assessed by the EDE (Independent of the Subscale Items)

Behaviors	EDE Definition
Pattern of eating	Frequency of eating breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, after-dinner snack, and night eating in the prior 28 days
Extreme dietary restriction	Eating <1200 calories outside of episodes of binge eating
Fasting	Going 24 hours or more without eating
Objective overeating	Consuming an objectively large amount of food in a relatively short time period with no sense of loss of control while eating
Subjective binge eating (also referred to as subjective bulimic episode)	Endorses experiencing a sense of loss of control while eating (at any point during the episode) an amount of food that is not unambiguously large
Objective binge eating (also referred to as objective bulimic episode)	Endorses experiencing a sense of loss of control while eating (at any point during the episode) an objectively large amount of food in a relatively short time period
Binge-eating episode diagnostic features	Doing any of the following during binge-eating episodes:  ● Eating much more rapidly than normal  ● Eating until feeling uncomfortably full  ● Eating large amounts of food despite a lack of physical hunger  ● Eating alone due to feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating  ● Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty
Purging behaviors	Self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or diuretics
Excessive and driven exercise	Exercise that is driven or compulsive, excessive, does harm, or interferes with other engagements
Other extreme weight control behaviors	Any other extreme behaviors used to control shape or weight. Examples may include use of appetite suppressants, chewing and spitting out food, or misuse of insulin among individuals with diabetes mellitus
Maintained low weight	Assess whether an interviewee of low weight has been trying to lose weight or avoid gaining weight