Awareness, Prevention, and Early Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder

Contributor: Leigh Bell, BA, writer for Eating Disorder Hope

The uncontrollable urge to eat, not necessarily because you’re hungry, but more likely because you’re anxious, tired, depressed, or stressed. And not eat just another slice of pizza, a second cookie or even three. It’s eating enough food to numb, enough to relieve – temporarily – those negative feelings.

When the food is gone, shame is left, and the cycle will inevitably repeat itself.

Binge Eating Disorder and Awareness

This is Binge-Eating Disorder, or BED. The eating disorder is defined by recurrent, persistent episodes of binge eating – consuming unusually large amounts of food beyond fullness – without compensatory behaviors, like purging.

We’ve heard lately heard more about BED largely for two reasons. First, BED was officially recognized as a formal diagnosis in 2013 when the American Psychiatric Association released the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, basically the encyclopedia of mental illness.

In the previous edition of the manual (DSM-IV), the diagnosis was listed in Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). Creation of BED as a separate diagnosis created more awareness among those who treat and suffer this eating disorder.

BED has three main characteristics listed in the DSM-V:

1. Recurrent episodes of binge eating occurring at least once a week for three months.
2. Eating a larger amount of food than normal during a short time frame (any two-hour period).
3. Lack of control over eating during the binge episode (feeling like you can’t stop eating or control what or how much you are eating).

Binge-eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:

• Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
• Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
• Eating much more rapidly than normal
• Eating alone out of embarrassment over quantity eaten
• Feeling disgusted, depressed, ashamed, or guilty after overeating

One blogger who struggled with binge eating defines a diagnostic binge like this:

1. Eating huge amounts of food in less than two hours
2. Feeling powerless to stop
3. Feeling numb while doing it

It is important to prevent BED and intervene early in diagnosed cases of the illness.

A Public Health Problem

Binge-eating disorder represents a public health problem at least equal to bulimia nervosa, but fewer than half of people with the illness seek treatment for it. [1] Accepting and getting help for BED can be more difficult for men, who may be embarrassed they’re dealing with a disorder society often deems a “woman’s one.”

Help is necessary, however, not only because of the physical effects of BED but also the emotional ones. People with BED have a significantly lower perceived quality of life and health compared to obese people without BED, and these negative feelings seem related to severe eating impulsiveness. [2]

As with most eating disorders, no one can specifically say what causes BED, but we do realize several factors collide in its development. These include [3]:

• Depression. As many as half of all people with binge eating disorder are depressed or have been depressed in the past.
• Dieting. Some people binge after skipping meals, not eating enough food each day, or avoiding certain kinds of food.
• Coping skills. Studies suggest that people with binge eating may have trouble handling some of their emotions. Many people who are binge eaters say that being angry, sad, bored, worried, or stressed can cause them to binge eat.
• Biology: Researchers are looking into how brain chemicals and metabolism (the way the body uses calories) affect binge eating disorder. Research also suggests that genes may be involved in binge eating, since the disorder often occurs in several members of the same family.

Know that there is hope if you or your loved one is suffering with Binge Eating Disorder. Reach out to a trained professional, consult a team of trained treatment team and start your road to recovery today.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

Binge Eating Disorder is often related to stress, what natural ways have you found to relieve your stress, in your recovery from BED?

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About the Author: Leigh Bell holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Creative Writing and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a published author, journalist with 15 years of experience, and a recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. Leigh is recovered from a near-fatal, decade-long battle with anorexia and the mother of three young, rambunctious children.

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References:

[1]: Kessler, R. C. et al. (2013). The prevalence and correlates of binge eating disorder in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Biological Psychiatry, 73(9), 904-914
[2]: Amianto F, Ottone L, Abbate Daga G, Fassino S. (2015). Binge-eating disorder diagnosis and treatment: a recap in front of DSM-5. BMC Psychiatry, 15:1.
[3]: Binge eating disorder fact sheet | womenshealth.gov. (2012, July 16). Retrieved January 12, 2016.[4]: Why stress causes people to overeat – Harvard Health. (2012, February 1). Retrieved January 12, 2016.
[5]: Avena, N.M., Rada, P., Hoebel, B,G,. (2009) Sugar and fat bingeing have notable differences in addictive-like behavior. The Journal of Nutrition, 139(3), 623-628.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on March 12, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com