This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Binge eating disorder (BED)

Authoring team

DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) has defined Binge Eating Disorder (BED) as a diagnostic entity (1):

  • characterized by recurrent loss of control over the amount and mode of eating and incurring psychological expenses secondary to overeating

BED is denied by some as a "legitimate" psychiatric disorder (2):

  • postulate that it is a form of a risky but still normal behavior
  • aslo argue that overeating, as well as obesity, most frequently coexists with or even results from other psychiatric problems, such as anxiety and depression (2)

Diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder (BED) according to DSM-5

A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating (same as bulimia nervosa)

B. Binge eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:

  • 1. Eating much more rapidly than normal;
  • 2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full;
  • 3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry;
  • 4. Eating alone because of embarrassment;
  • 5. Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating.

C. Marked distress related to binge eating is present.

D. At least once a week for 3 months.

E. Binge eating is not associated with recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior.

BED is strongly correlated with obesity

  • estimated that from 15.7% to as much as 40% of obese patients suffer from BED (3,4)
  • between 1.12% and 6.6% of general population have BED (5,6)

Reference:

  • 1) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Washington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
  • 2). Flaskerud JH. Fat studies, binge eating, obesity and health or illness. Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 2010; 31(7): 491-493.
  • 3) Gormally J, Black S, Daston S, Rardin, D. The assessment of binge eating severity among obese persons. Addict. Behav. 1982; 7(1): 47-55.
  • 4) Mitchell JE, King WC, Courcoulas A, Dakin G, Elder K. et al. Eating behavior and eating disorders in adults before bariatric surgery. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 2015; 48(2): 215-222.
  • 5) Grucza RA, Przybeck TR, Cloninger CR. Prevalence and correlates of binge eating disorder in a community sample. Compr. Psychiatry 2007; 48(2): 124-131.
  • 6) Preti A, Girolamo Gd, Vilagut G, Alonso J, Graaf Rd, Bruffaerts R. et al. The epidemiology of eating disorders in six European countries: results of the ESEMeD-WMH project. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2009; 43(14): 1125-1132

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.