Binge Eating

Binge eating disorder

  • The person binge eats frequently and repeatedly.
  • Feels out of control and unable to stop eating during binges.
  • May eat rapidly and secretly, or may snack and nibble all day long.
  • Feels guilty and ashamed of binge eating.
  • Has a history of diet failures.
  • Tends to be depressed and obese.

People who have binge eating disorder do not regularly vomit, overexercise, or abuse laxatives like bulimics do. They may be genetically predisposed to weigh more than the cultural ideal (which at present is exceedingly unrealistic), so they diet, make themselves hungry, and then binge in response to that hunger.Or they may eat for emotional reasons: to comfort themselves, avoid threatening situations, and numb emotional pain.

Regardless of the reason, diet programs are not the answer. In fact, diets almost always make matters worse. Information reported in the March 2002 New England Journal of Medicine suggests that for some, but not all, people a genetic flaw in combination with lifestyle factors can predispose to binge eating and subsequent obesity.