Binge Eating Disorder Introduction

Binge-eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by compulsive eating in which the person is consuming unusually large amounts of food without being able to control or stop. The disorder should not be confused with occasional situations when a person overeats by having a second and third portion from the main holiday meal, or eating the entire chips bag while watching a TV show or movie. A person is suffering from binge eating disorder when the overeating episodes are "...a regular occurrence, shrouded in shame and secrecy." (1)

The disorder was initially described in 1959 by eating disorder researcher, Albert Stunkard, MD who, based on his clinical experience, noticed that some obese individuals have "... distressing episodes of overeating that they experience as outside of their control." (2) Stunkard describes binge eating as "having an orgiastic quality," involves eating "enormous amounts of food in relatively short periods" and "... is frequently related to a specific precipitating event, and is regularly followed by severe discomfort and self-condemnation." (2) Due to striking similarities with bulimia, binge eating disorder was recognized as a distinct disorder only after 1990s when it has been included in the appendix of the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. Although in both disorders (bulimia and binge eating disorder) the person engages in binge eating episodes, individuals with binge eating disorder do not use compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting or excessive exercising.

Due to the compulsive nature of the disorder, binge eating disorder is also "termed" as "an 'addiction to food'" because of the large amount of food consumed in a very short period of time. Usually a binge eater can eat up to 20,000 calories while a normal diet is no more higher than 3,000 calories per day. (3) Although most people find comfort in food as it usually represents the heart of every happiest celebration and most people eat more than normal on these special occasions, binge eaters fall into a different category. Such individuals have a different relationship with food than individual without an eating disorder. They feel that they don't have control over how much they are eating and they also can't stop eating.

According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, "binge eating must occur, on average, at least 2 days a week for a period of at least 6 months." (4) The length of a binge-eating episode can vary greatly and many individuals have difficulties separating binge eating into discrete episodes. Due to the inability of individuals suffering from binge eating disorder to recall if a binge eating episode occurred in a given day, the diagnosis procedure suggests "that the number of days on which binge eating occurs to be counted." (4)

Individuals suffering from binge eating disorder are preoccupied with their weight but in a different form than bulimics or anorexics because they are not concerned with looking thin, rather "they agonize over their ballooning weight." (5) However "similar with bulimics and anorexics, they hold distorted attitudes about food and body image and suffer from depression." (4)

One of the major threats of this disorder is that the person is psychologically addicted to food and uses it to cope with stress, worries, emotional and personal problems, to soothe an unpleasant mental or emotional state, to overcome boredom, loneliness, and tensed moments, to fill an emotional or physical void, or to reward themselves. Emotional eating is followed by psychological consequences such intense feelings of regret, disgust, self-loathing, guilt, depression, and the need to soothe them with food, and physical consequences such as weight gain and obesity. Although food is used to soothe feelings rather than to soothe hunger, emotional eating might bring relief for a brief moment while the initial state that causes compulsive eating continues to persist. After a binge eating episode, a person experiences intense feeling of guilt, shame, and distress. Such behaviors turn into patterns of dysfunctional eating habits (binge eating) that can alternate with dieting. It is very common for individuals with binge eating disorder to engage in yo-yo diets.

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 2 percent of the U.S. adult population (4 million Americans) is suffering from compulsive eating, which indicates that binge eating disorder is more common than anorexia and bulimia. Approximately 3.5 of all women and 2 percent of all men will suffer from this condition at some point in their life. Most people that suffer from the disorder are overweight or obese, but it is not uncommon for normal weight people to have this disorder also. Approximately, 10 to 15 percent of the mild obese individuals who try to lose weight on their own or with the help of commercial programs suffer from the disorder. Binge eating disorder is very common among severely obese people.

The onset of the disorder is usually around late adolescence and early adulthood, but it can develop at any age. According to clinical studies, most adults with binge eating disorder start to develop eating problems generally in their late adolescence years either before or after the onset of dieting behavior. The major triggers of the disorder are traumatic emotional events or major life changes such as the loss of someone close, divorce, and physical or emotional abuse.

Conditions & Diseases: Eating & Weight Disorders

Binge Eating Disorder