[Alexithymia and psychopathology in a clinical sample of obese subjects].

The study examines the relationship between obesity and alexithymia, focusing on relations with the level of psychopathology. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was performed in 200 women (100 obese subjects and 100 normal weight individuals). In obese subjects TAS was accompanied by a series of tests including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Ipat Anxiety Scale (ASQ) and the Eating Attitude Test (EAT). The results obtained show that from a psychopathological point of view obesity cannot be considered a single phenomenon, and that it is possible to identify at least 3 groups with different psychopathological phenomenon as a whole, but it appears to be present, in association with other psychological traits, only on the subgroup (35% of the total) of subjects with borderline personalities.