What is binge eating disorder and are the effects ?

What is binge eating disorder?

Most people overeat every now and again and it is not uncommon to occasionally feel as though we have eaten more than we should have. However, regularly consuming large amounts of food when you are not feeling hungry, usually to the point of feeling overly full, and at a much faster rate than usual is known as binge eating disorder. Binge eating disorder is similar to bulimia except that the person does not get rid of the food after eating.

Some of the characteristics of binge eating include:

Feeling that eating is out of control
Eating what most people would consider to be a large amount of food
Eating to the point of feeling uncomfortable
Eating large amounts of food, even when you are not really hungry
Being secretive about what is eaten and when
Being embarrassed by the amount of food eaten
Feeling disgusted, depressed or guilty about overeating.

If you think you do one or a number of these things, you may want to speak to someone like a doctor, nutritionist psychologist or counsellor.

Causes of binge eating

Binge eating is caused by a number of factors that often affect one another. These include physiological factors (such as our brain chemistry), social and cultural factors (including the thin body ideal), dieting, and negative moods states. Dieting is a common cause read more