Define the Binge Eating Disorder?
Binge eating disorder is probably the most common eating disorder. Binge eating you may recall we studied as an element of bulimia nervosa. In Bulimia, however, episodes of binge eating are followed by inappropriate behaviour such as purging, periods of fasting, or performance of strenuous exercise. People with binge eating disorder, by contrast, do not purge, fast or engage in strenuous exercise after binge eating. Additionally, people with bulimia are typically of normal weight or may be slightly overweight (the purging,etc., have little to no effect on the subject's body fat), whereas people with binge eating disorder are typically overweight or obese.
Binge eating disorder is a psychiatric disorder in which a subject:
- Periodically does not exercise control over consumption of food,
- Eats an unusually large amount of food at one 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,
- Always 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, and
- Feels disgusted, depressed, or guilty after binge eating.