Binge eating disorder - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder among adults in the United States.

People with this disorder eat a large quantity of food in a short time frame, called a binge eating episode.

These episodes occur at least once a week for several months.

Binge eating disorder is different from bulimia.

People with bulimia binge eat, but then they purge the food afterwards by forcing themselves to throw up.

People with binge eating disorder don't purge and usually don't restrict food intake afterwards.

Binge eating disorder is often associated with other psychological conditions.

People who develop binge eating disorder may be depressed and use binge eating as a way to make themselves feel better.

They may have low self-esteem, have negative views on their weight or body image, or have other unhealthy eating habits, such as unreasonably rigid meal plans.

While binge eating is the main symptom of binge eating disorder, not everyone who binge eats has binge eating disorder.

People who have binge eating disorder may eat so much they feel sick afterwards, or they may eat a large amount of food even though they don't feel hungry.

Binge eating episodes can be planned or unplanned.

A person with the disorder may begin eating a typical meal, but then lose control and eat much more than they anticipated.

Or they may plan a binge eating episode in advance, buying special foods and allowing themselves to binge only at a certain time.

The result of these binge eating episodes is weight gain.

Binge eating disorder is diagnosed by reviewing a person's medical and eating history.

A person has binge eating disorder if they have at least one binge eating episode per week over several months.

The severity of binge eating disorder can be categorized by the number of binge eating episodes per week, with mild binge eating disorder being one to three episodes per week, and extreme binge eating disorder being 14 episodes or more per week.

Binge eating disorder is treated through counseling, using techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy to disrupt the binge eating behavior and to teach a more routine, healthy eating schedule.

Medications and therapy aimed at addressing underlying conditions may also be effective treatment options. Other treatments, such as anti-obesity medications or bariatric surgery, are more controversial as their long-term effectiveness at reducing obesity and curbing hunger is debatable.

To recap, binge eating disorder is a disorder where a person eats a large amount of food in a short period of time at least once a week for several months.

The disorder often is associated with other underlying mental health conditions or an existing negative opinion about one's body image.

Medications and therapy to treat underlying conditions are effective treatment options.