**4. Discussion**

This study aimed to assess differences and commonalities between obese patients with BED and obese individuals without BED. For that, a battery of questionnaires on early life experiences, general psychopathology, and eating-related symptomatology was assessed on the above-mentioned groups and normal-weight controls, whereby the BED group was a clinically diagnosed sample. In almost all questionnaires and subcategories, significant differences could be found between the groups. However, the findings of the LDA showed that OB-BED, OB, and CO can be grouped along a two-dimensional space, with one continuum primarily distinguishing CO from the OB and OB-BED groups and a second continuum distinguishing between OB and OB-BED groups. Consistent with previous research, aspects of early life experiences emerged as shared features of OB and OB-BED groups, whereas general psychopathology in terms of impulse control impairments distinguished between the groups. However, across both dimensions, features of eatingrelated symptomatology emerged as the most important predictors of commonalities and disparities between obesity with and without BED. These results are discussed in further detail in the following sections.
