Quality of life and bulimic eating disorder behaviors: Findings from a community-based sample

Objective: The aims were to test relationships between bulimic eating disorder behaviors, and measures of quality of life, and to replicate previous findings with respect to their prevalence and distribution in a representative sample. Method: Data were obtained from 3010 interviews of a randomly selected sample of 4400 adult households. Quality of life was assessed with the SF-36 Health Status Measure and the Australian Quality of Life Survey. Results: Eating disorder behaviors were associated with significantly lower quality of life scores. On MANOVA, regular current binge eating explained 23% (p < 0.001) of the variance in SF-36 physical and mental health component scores, and extreme weight control behaviors explained 5% (p = 0.001). The main findings of the former South Australian survey were replicated. The mean duration of behaviors since onset was 6.6 (SD, 9.2; median 3) years. Conclusions: Eating disorder behaviors were associated with poorer quality of life and were often chronic.