Table 2 The differences between the BED group and healthy controls in the EAT-26, EBQ-18, TAS-20, and HADS tool dimension levels

EAT-26: Global score

25.75

12.34

5.82

5.39

8.50

< 0.001

15.19

24.67

2.09

Dieting

16.70

8.08

4.50

4.76

7.65

< 0.001

8.99

15.40

1.84

Bulimia and food preoccupation

7.09

3.24

0.38

1.10

11.37

< 0.001

5.52

7.90

2.77

Oral control

2.23

3.52

1.12

1.78

1.68

0.099

−0.21

2.43

0.40

EBQ-18: Global score

62.61

8.86

30.37

7.79

17.00

< 0.001

28.47

36.02

3.86

Positive beliefs

22.00

4.48

10.02

3.80

12.76

< 0.001

10.11

13.84

2.88

Negative beliefs

23.06

4.49

9.29

2.44

16.38

< 0.001

12.08

15.45

3.81

Permissive beliefs

17.56

4.21

11.48

4.03

6.50

< 0.001

4.22

7.94

1.48

Alexithymia

56.71

14.29

44.48

11.33

4.19

< 0.001

6.42

18.06

0.96

Difficulty identifying feeling

22.17

6.82

14.93

5.65

5.10

< 0.001

4.41

10.07

1.17

Difficulty describing feeling

15.14

5.44

11.86

4.08

3.04

0.003

1.13

5.43

0.69

Externally oriented thinking

19.39

4.96

17.69

4.09

1.66

0.101

−0.34

3.74

0.38

Anxiety

12.92

3.79

7.52

3.64

6.40

< 0.001

3.71

7.07

1.45

Depression

8.39

4.02

4.50

3.36

4.59

< 0.001

2.20

5.58

1.05