Binge Eating Disorder: Symptoms & Causes

A Quick Guide

Almost everyone occasionally overeats, for instance, by eating the second or third helpings of a holiday meal. However, for some individuals, excessive overeating spirals out of control and starts to happen frequently which has a very fine line with binge-eating disorder. In this article, we will discuss the symptoms and causes of Binge Eating Disorder.

What is Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge Eating Disorder BED is a serious eating disorder characterized by eating even when you are uncomfortably full. You may be ashamed of eating that amount of food in one sitting. It can lead to numerous health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc.

Because they involve more than just food, eating disorders are classified as psychological issues. Usually, people develop them as a coping mechanism for a more serious problem or another psychological disorder, such as anxiety or depression.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in the US alone 2.8% of people had a lifetime prevalence of BED. Moreover, it affects around 2% of the people globally as well. It is also more common in females rather than males. 

Causes

While we don’t know the exact causes that lead to this disorder, there are certain risk factors involved in its development. Some of which are the following:

Genes & Gender: Dopamine is a brain chemical that’s involved in sensations of reward and pleasure.  Those with BED are more sensitive to Dopamine. Additionally, there is strong proof that this condition is hereditary. Women are more likely than males to experience BED. There may be underlying biological causes for this.

Brain Changes:  There are signs that those with BED may experience structural changes in the brain that affect how responsive they are to food and how well they can control themselves.

Body size & image: Obesity affects about 50% of those with BED. Around 25–50% of individuals undergoing weight loss surgery also have BED. Weight issues may both contribute to and arise from the condition. Moreover, many people who experience BED have a very poor perception of their bodies. Dieting, overeating, and body dissatisfaction all play a role in this disorder’s development.

Binge eating: The first sign of this disorder, according to those who are affected, is frequently a tendency to binge eat. This involves binge eating in adolescence and childhood.

Trauma and other psychiatric issues: Risk factors include stressful life occurrences like abuse, death or being apart from a loved one, automobile accidents, etc. Weight-related bullying in children may also play a role. Nearly 80% of patients with BED also suffer from at least one other mental illness, such as phobias, depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, or drug abuse.

Learn more about how OCD is related to Eating Disorders.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of Binge Eating disorder are the following:

• Consuming an excessive amount of food in a short period of time, such as in a two-hour window
• Consuming food quickly during binge episodes
• Eating by yourself or in secret, a lot of the time
• Eating even if you’re not hungry or are already full
• Feeling sad, repulsed, humiliated, guilty, or depressed over not being able to stop eating
• Recurrent dieting, often without subsequent loss in weight
• You believe your eating habits are out of control
• You eat food up until you feel uncomfortably full

Even when they are not hungry, those with BED may consume a large quantity of food quickly. Stress, dieting, negative thoughts about one’s appearance, the accessibility of food, boredom, or negative body image feelings can all lead to episodes of binge eating.

We hope you found this article useful in understanding more about Binge Eating Disorder along with its symptoms and causes.