Definition
The Eating Loss of Control Scale (ELOCS; see Blomquist et al. 2014 for scale) is an 18-item measure that assesses self-reported frequency and severity of eating episodes characterized by loss of control feelings, cognitions, and behaviors over a period of 4 weeks. Previous measures of loss of control while eating have largely employed a single, dichotomous (present/absent) item conflated with the amount of food consumed. In contrast, the ELOCS measures severity of loss of control while eating using a continuous, Likert-type scale, with 18 loss of control (LOC) related experiences, independent of the amount of food consumed, to capture the variability in the loss of control experience (Blomquist et al. 2014).
The ELOCS items have two parts. The first part assesses frequency by asking for the number of LOC episodes captured by the...
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References and Further Reading
Blomquist, K. K., Roberto, C. A., Barnes, R. D., White, M. A., Masheb, R. M., & Grilo, C. M. (2014). Development and validation of the eating loss of control scale. Psychological Assessment, 26(1), 77–89.
Elder, K. A., Paris, M., Anez, L. M., & Grilo, C. M. (2008). Loss of control over eating is associated with eating disorder psychopathology in a community sample of Latinas. Eating Behavior, 9, 501–503.
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Fairburn, C. G., & Cooper, Z. (1993). The eating disorder examination. In C. G. Fairburn & G. T. Wilson (Eds.), Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment (12th ed., pp. 317–360). New York: Guilford Press.
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Latner, J. D., Mond, J. M., Kelly, M. C., Haynes, S. N., & Hay, P. J. (2014). The loss of control over eating scale: Development and psychometric evaluation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(6), 647–659.
Mond, J. M., Latner, J. D., Hay, P. H., Owen, C., & Rodgers, B. (2010). Objective and subjective bulimic episodes in the classification of bulimic-type eating disorders: Another nail in the coffin of a problematic distinction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(7), 661–669.
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White, M. A., Kalarchian, M. A., Masheb, R. M., Marcus, M. D., & Grilo, C. M. (2010). Loss of control over eating predicts outcomes in bariatric surgery: A prospective 24-month follow-up study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71, 175–184.
Yanovski, S. Z. (1993). Binge eating disorder: Current knowledge and future directions. Obesity Research, 1, 306–324.
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Blomquist, K.K., Grilo, C.M. (2015). Eating Loss of Control Scale. In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_156-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_156-1
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