What is Binge Eating Disorder?
Binge eating refers to the consumption of a large amount of food in a short period of time, accompanied by a feeling of compulsiveness and loss of control over eating. Usually, a person would consume significantly more food than most people would eat in a similar timeframe and eat more rapidly. It’s often accompanied with feelings of shame and embarrassment so many people who binge eat, do so in secret or in private. Binge eating is frequently triggered by emotional or psychological factors, such as stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, boredom or overstimulation. Food becomes a way to cope with or numb these emotions.
It’s important to note that occasional episodes of overeating are entirely normal (such as eating at celebrations or in response to grief) and don’t necessarily indicate binge eating disorder.
Binge Eating Disorder is a diagnosable condition. It can have serious physical and emotional consequences, including weight gain, obesity, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety and can also contribute to the development of other health issues, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Below is the diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder. Even if you don’t meet the exact criteria, professional intervention is important to help limit the behaviours ensuring that they don’t become any worse or more engrained.
Diagnosis
According to the DSM-5, diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder include:
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating with an episode of binge eating characterised by both of the following:
- Eating, in a discrete period of time (for example, within any two-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances
- A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (for example, a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating)
- The binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:
- Eating much more rapidly than normal
- Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
- Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
- Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating
- Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterwards
- Marked distress regarding binge eating is present.
- The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for three months.
- The binge eating isn’t associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviour (for example, purging) and doesn’t occur exclusively during the course of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.
It’s extremely important to note that weight or appearance is not part of the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder
Treatment
Guided self-help is the recommended treatment for binge eating. This means working through a book about binge eating and having sessions with a therapist.
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