Binge Eating Disorder


Binge eating disorder (BED), is a psychiatric disorder in which a subject shows the following symptoms.

• Periodically does not exercise control over consumption of food
• Eats an unusually large amount of food at one time -- more than a normal person would eat in the same amount of 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
• Usually 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
• Most people with this problem are either overweight or obese (discussed below), but people of normal weight can also have the disorder.

About 2 percent of all adults in the United States (as many as 4 million Americans) have binge eating disorder.

About 10 to 15 percent of people who are mildly obese and who try to lose weight on their own or through commercial weight-loss programs have binge eating disorder. The disorder is even more common in people who are severely obese.

Binge eating disorder is a little more common in women than in men; three women for every two men have it. The disorder is found in all ethno-cultural and racial populations.

People who are obese and have binge eating disorder often became overweight at a younger age than those without the disorder. They might also lose and gain back weight more often.

Causes:
No one knows for sure what causes binge eating disorder. As many as half of all people with binge eating disorder have been depressed in the past. Whether depression causes binge eating disorder or whether binge eating disorder causes depression is not known for sure.