Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are now frequently heard terms, associated with serious risks and negative consequences. Less commonly, binge eating disorder (BED) is mentioned, although it is still very common. The disorder is also not included as a separate disorder in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), but is classified as an eating disorder NOS (not otherwise specified).
Binge eating
Binge eating is a type of eating disorder that involves periods of uncontrolled eating. This involves binge eating in which a person consumes an unusually large amount of food in a short period of time. An unusually large amount of food refers to an amount that is considered a lot by most people and cannot normally be eaten during this time. Although the limit cannot be precisely defined, the person having the ,binge, or eating binge often knows that it exists. It can also be a subjective binge, in which someone eats food uncontrollably. This often involves barely chewing.
With binge eating disorder, or binge eating disorder, binge eating occurs regularly. The binges are followed by feelings of guilt and shame. While in bulimia nervosa these binges are ,compensated, by using laxatives or vomiting, this is not the case with binge eating disorder. A binge eating disorder is therefore not necessarily bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is a binge eating disorder.
Characteristics:
- Period of loss of control when consuming food;
- Actual feelings of loss of control during these periods;
- Eating an unusually large amount of food over a short period of time;
- The food comes quickly, barely without tasting;
- Physical discomfort and nausea due to the large amount of food;
- Eating is common with feelings of depression and boredom;
- Eating is common when one is not hungry;
- Eating often occurs when the person is alone;
- Presence of feelings of disgust, guilt, shame and depression after the binge;
- Often rapid weight gain.
Origin
Binge eating disorder was initially described as the ,Night Eating Syndrome, (NES) by Albert Stunkard, because it occurred exclusively at night. The first time it was described was in 1959. However, it later turned out to also occur during the day and the name was changed.
It is often associated with obesity, because there is no compensation for excessive eating. Yet it is also seen in people of normal weight.
Causes
Binge eating is regularly accompanied by the processing of emotions. When dealing with stress and insecurities, these people (often called emotional eaters) turn to food as a kind of coping strategy. However, this in turn leads to feelings of guilt, shame and disgust, which creates a vicious cycle of overeating and negative feelings. There is also often low self-esteem and low self-confidence in people with binge eating disorder.
- You can find more about emotional eating behavior here.
There may be a genetic factor for the development of binge eating disorder, which makes children of someone with binge eating disorder more likely to also develop the disorder.
Consequences
A one-time binge is in principle not a health problem, but continuous overeating will lead to weight gain and subsequently obesity. The health problems are therefore comparable to problems that occur with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, certain forms of cancer and heart disease.
In addition, people with a binge eating disorder are also more likely to become ill because their diet is not optimal. The products eaten during a binge are often very high in fat , sugars and salt. Consider large amounts of sweets, biscuits, chocolate and bread, but what exactly is eaten differs per person. It will also largely depend on what is available in the house. In any case, it often does not contain many vitamins and minerals.
Finally, of course, there are the psychological consequences. Binge eating, and loss of control, results in feelings of shame, disgust, disappointment, and can lead to low self-confidence due to constant loss of control. It also causes problems socially, because people often withdraw due to feelings of shame.
Therapy
Nowadays there are different forms of therapy and support offered:
- Overeating Anonymous meetings, consisting of 12 steps;
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy, to track eating behavior and break unwanted habits;
- Interpersonal psychotherapy, to look at relationships with others and change problem areas;
- Medication, such as antidepressants.
The problem, however, is that it is often not recognized as a disorder, making it difficult to obtain reimbursement.