Binge eating disorder is characterised by recurrent episodes of binge eating which occur without compensatory weight control methods. As with bulimia nervosa, an episode of binge eating occurs within a discrete time period during which a person feels a loss of control over their eating, where they consume more or different food than usual, and do not feel able to stop eating or limit their food intake [10, 11, 1408]. As described in Chapter A4, binge eating disorder differs from bulimia nervosa as episodes of binge eating are not regularly followed by compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain (e.g., strenuous exercise, self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives). Care should be taken not to confuse binge eating disorder (a psychiatric condition) with obesity (a medical condition), even though they may physically resemble each other and can co-occur. Symptoms include [1414]:
- Obesity.
- Hyperlipidaemia (elevated lipids in the blood).
- Type 2 diabetes.
Common to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder is a dysfunctional and distressing system of evaluating a person’s self-worth which, rather than being based on personal qualities and achievements across various domains (e.g., academic accomplishments, athletic ability, work achievements, values, relationship qualities), is focused on weight, size, shape, and appearance [159, 160, 1423]. People with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are distressed by the loss of control over their eating, and the perception of overeating, and are at increased risk of additional psychiatric comorbidities [1408]. In bulimia nervosa, binge eating is thought to come about from severely restricting food intake as well as a mechanism for emotion regulation, but those with binge eating disorder do not illustrate the same intake restrictions between episodes of binge eating [1414].