Binge eating is a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable overeating. It is sometimes as a symptom of binge eating disorder. During such binges, a person rapidly consumes an excessive amount of food. Most people who have eating binges try to hide this behaviour from others, and often feel ashamed or depressed about their overeating. Eating binges can be followed by so-called compensatory behaviour, acts by which the person tries to compensate for the effects of overeating. Examples of such acts are purging (induced vomiting or laxative abuse), fasting, and heavy exercising.

Although people who do not have any mental disorder may occasionally experience episodes of overeating, frequent binge eating is often a symptom of an eating disorder. Binge eating is a central feature of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. It is also practiced by some people with an eating disorder not otherwise specified or anorexia nervosa.

Binge eating disorder, also known as BED, is a psychiatric disorder in which a subject:

  • Periodically does not exercise control over consumption of food
  • Eats an unusually large amount of food at one time
  • Eats much more quickly during binge episodes than during normal eating episodes
  • Eats until physically uncomfortable
  • Eats large amounts of food, even when they are not really hungry
  • Always eats alone during binge eating episodes, in order to avoid discovery of the disorder
  • Often eats alone during periods of normal eating, owing to feelings of embarrassment about food
  • Feels disgusted, depressed, or guilty after binge eating

Binge eating is an element of another eating disorder, bulimia nervosa. The formal diagnosis criteria are similar: at least two binges per week for an extended period of time. In bulimia, however, episodes of binge eating are followed by purging, periods of fasting, or performance of strenuous exercise – indeed, “exercise bulimia,” in which a person eats normally but then engages in strenuous exercise, is an inverse form of bulimia People with binge eating disorder, by contrast, do not purge, fast or engage in strenuous exercise after binge eating. Additionally, people with bulimia are typically of normal weight or may be slightly overweight (the purging, etc., have little to no effect on the subject’s body fat), whereas people with binge eating disorder are typically overweight or obese.

Binge eating disorder is similar to, but it is distinct from, compulsive eating. People with binge eating disorder do not have a compulsion to overeat and do not spend a great deal of time fantasising about food. On the contrary, some people with binge eating disorder have very negative feelings about food. As with other eating disorders, binge eating is an expressive disorder – that is, the disorder is an expression of a deeper, psychological problem.

It is actually hotly contested whether binge eating disorder has its own diagnosis. Some believe that it is a milder form, or subset of bulimia nervosa, but others argue that it is its own distinct disorder. Currently, the DSM-IV categorizes it under Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ED(NOS)), simply stating that more research is needed.

Source: Wikipedia

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