What Is a Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge eating disorder is the most common of several eating disorders that affect both men and women. People with binge eating disorder regularly overeat, even when they're not hungry, and experience a loss of control while eating. Although the disorder can affect people of all sizes, people who binge are often obese.

A Definition of Binge Eating Disorder

The difference between someone with binge eating disorder and someone who binges from time to time is mostly a matter of degree. Someone with a diagnosable binge eating disorder is a compulsive overeater who binges at least a couple of times of week for a period of at least six months straight and suffers extreme psychological distress as a result.

Signs and Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder

People with binge eating disorder routinely eat abnormal amounts of food in short periods of time at one sitting. They often lose control to the degree that they eat until they are uncomfortably full, and they don't even remember what they ate. The most profound trait that distinguishes men and women with binge eating disorder from those who simply overeat is the deep guilt and disgust they feel after a binge.

Binge eaters usually binge secretly and alone because they are embarrassed and ashamed by the amount of food they consume. Friends and family are often unaware of the extent of a binge eater's problem.

How Binge Eating Disorder Hurts

Men and women with binge eating disorder are at risk of developing all of the medical conditions associated with obesity. These include heart disease, diabetes, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Binge behavior also occurs in people with the eating order bulimia nervosa. The difference is that a person with bulimia will purge by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics, or simply over-exercise in an attempt to avoid gaining weight.

Binge eating disorder is recognized as a bio-socio-psychological condition like any other disorder with biological and social roots. Almost half of all people with binge eating disorder also suffer from depression.

What You Can Do

If you think you, or anyone you know, has binge eating disorder, the first step is to get professional help from a psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker who specializes in eating disorders. Cognitive and behavioral therapists can teach binge eaters how to cope with stress in healthier ways and change the beliefs and behaviors that lead them to binge.