Binge Eating Disorder

About Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States and was formally recognized as a separate diagnosis in DSM-5 in 2013. It involves recurrent episodes of binge eating, meaning eating an unusually large amount of food in a discrete period with a sense of loss of control, occurring on average at least once a week for three months, without the regular compensatory behaviors such as vomiting that characterize bulimia nervosa. Episodes are associated with features such as eating much more rapidly than normal, eating until uncomfortably full, eating large amounts when not hungry, eating alone because of embarrassment, and feeling disgusted, depressed or guilty afterward, and they cause marked distress. Binge eating disorder affects people of all body sizes, though it is more common among people with obesity, and it is associated with depression, anxiety and weight related health problems. Onset is often in late adolescence or early adulthood, and it is more evenly distributed between men and women than other eating disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the best established treatment, with interpersonal psychotherapy and adapted dialectical behavior therapy as alternatives. Lisdexamfetamine became the first medication approved for the condition in the United States in 2015. Weight loss programs that do not address binge eating are generally less helpful.