Binge eating is a multi-faceted eating disorder that may appear in several different forms. All signs and symptoms are detrimental to health and require professional intervention for recovery.

What Is Binge Eating?

A binge is an uncontrollable urge to eat tremendous quantities of food, usually in a very short amount of time, and frequently in secret. Binge eating is an eating disorder in which a person repeatedly binges, usually due to a psychological trigger. Some binges focus on one type of food: sweet, salty, crunchy, or creamy, for example. Other bingers report the urge to "eat everything that isn't nailed down"--one binger said she would even eat the nails if given the chance. The tell-tale characteristics of a binge are:

astonishing quantities of food
short time span
secrecy
inability to stop eating
What Causes Bingeing?

Each binge-eater has a different trigger. Some are victims of emotional eating. This happens when strong emotions threaten to overwhelm them, their brains short-circuit and force them to eat to dull the pain. Others are compulsive eaters who, as the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, engage in eating as a repetitive, obsessive behaviour, in much the same way that some obsessive-compulsives wash their hands repeatedly. Some bingers are so desperate to lose weight that they will binge because they are starving, but then they will purge in some way to "atone" for having consumed such great quantities of food.

To Purge or Not To Purge

Some binge eaters simply binge and then return to normal eating patterns when the trigger for the binge has been resolved. Many bingers, however, choose one or more methods of purging to make up for the "loss of control" that they displayed by bingeing. Most people are familiar with the victim of bulimia, who purges by forcing herself to vomit after eating. That is the most common form of purging, and one of the most damaging. Other methods of purging include excessive fasting or stringent dieting as a form of self-punishment, excessive exercise, negative self-talk, or overuse of laxatives and enemas. All of these forms of purging can cause severe damage to the body and to the self-image of the victim of this disorder.

Treatment

Binge eating is treated by combining several different approaches. The patient must receive psychotherapy to address the underlying issues, medical treatment for the health disruptions, and nutrition counseling to help them learn to eat in a healthy manner. Of primary importance is discovering the triggers that lead to a binge, and teaching the binge-eater to find other ways of coping with the trigger. For example, emotional eaters must learn to face their emotions and work through them, rather than sedating themselves with food.