Do I Have Binge Eating Disorder?

Anyone can be affected by Binge Eating Disorder. While it is true women and girls are somewhat more prone, men and boys can also exhibit the symptoms of BED. One of the common triggers for BED is mental or emotional trauma, such as can come from childhood abuse. It’s a psychological disorder that arises from an attempt to find some relief for pain or other stresses that are tormenting a BED sufferer.

The clinical definition of BED is when a patient consumes large quantities of food in under two hours, on a regular basis, in a manner that feels out of control and such that the patient cannot stop even if they think they might want to. Many BED sufferers will not even be consciously aware of the binge behavior until after they’ve finished eating. BED will often accompany other mental disorders, such as depression or anxiety.

Many BED sufferers will experience a reaction of shame, which can create a negative cycle for both the binge behavior as well as any other psychological disorders they might be dealing with. Along with the physical effects of gorging on food, which include weight gain and diabetes, the guilt and disgust that will often be triggered can worsen the patient’s mental state. Psychologists can treat BED, but the therapy takes time to complete.

Key Points:

  • 1Binge eating has similarities to other eating disorders, but doesn’t typically have the “purge” portion.
  • 2Weight gain is common and these patients will binge at certain times with particular foods.
  • 3Medications are found to be helpful, especially ones that work with obsessive disorders.


Binge Eating Disorder can trigger some medical problems to worsen. Many health issues such as obesity, joint pain, chronic pain, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and sleep apnea can all worsen due to binge eating.
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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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