Binge-Eating Disorder

Prevalence

  • The gender ratio is far less skewed in binge- eating disorder than in bulimia nervosa.

  • Binge-eating disorder is as prevalent among females from racial or ethnic minority groups as has been reported for white females.

  • The disorder is more prevalent among individuals seeking weight-loss treatment than in the general population.

Risk Factors

Genetic and physiological

Binge-eating disorder appears to run in families, which may reflect additive genetic influences.

Symptoms

  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

    1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.

    2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode.


  • The binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:

    1. Eating much more rapidly than normal.

    2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.

    3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.

    4. Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.

    5. Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.


  • Marked distress regarding binge eating is present.

  • The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for 3 months.

  • The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior as in bulimia nevrosa and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.