What Is Binge Eating Disorder
Helping you sort the fact from the fiction! 

If you are wondering "what is binge eating disorder", it is probably because you are worried about your own behaviour, or of that of someone close to you. You yourself might be binge eating, or worrying that a friend or relative might be suffering in some way. I hope that this page is a good place for you to start finding the answers to your questions.

And there can be so many questions!

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• What are the signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder (BED)?
  
  
• What are its causes? - page One
  
  
• What are the physical causes ?
  
  
• What are the Psychological causes?
  
  
• What are the Social causes?
  
  
• Who binge eats and why?
  
  
• What are the effects and the health risks of continuing to binge eat?
  
  
• When does simply over-eating regularly become an actual disorder?
  
  
• And what is the difference between this and other eating disorders like bulimia nervosa?

These pages will help you separate the myths from the facts.

Lets face it, we all over eat sometimes, and we may even eat more than we know we should on a regular basis, but that doesn't necessarily mean we've got a disorder! A percentage of obese or overweight people will be suffering from binge eating, but someone can also be of normal weight and have the problem. And even the experts will agree or disagree about diagnoses - so lets try to get things into a bit of perspective:

BINGE EATING is when someone:

• Eats an unusually large amount of food at one time (what other people would objectively agree is an unusually large amount). A 'binge' refers to any activity that is taken to excess, as in binge drinking. As said above, we have probably all had such 'binges' at some time in our lives!

It is a symptom of B.E.D and can be a symptom of other disorders such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia or EDNOS.

BINGE EATING DISORDER is when someone:

• Binge eats twice a week or more (in other words, it has become a regular occurrence)

• has been behaving in this way for a period of three months or more (so it has become a sustained problem)

• often experiences a feeling of loss of control during the binges.
  This is an interesting one, as many people describe going into a feeling of trance when they binge eat (dissociation). Or even though they know they should stop, they just cant seem to until they have reached a point of being really uncomfortable, or even in pain, or they have simply used up all their food.

• Another important consideration is how it impacts on somebodys quality of life. It might be adversely affecting their health, their finances, and their relationships or how they feel about themselves. It is often only when such problems have become severe that someone will try to find help.

So that gives the briefest of answers to your question of what is binge eating disorder.
Please explore our other pages for more detailed information:

Eating Disorder Treatment