Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Criteria for Diagnosing BED
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating, (ingesting a large amount of food), with an associated sense of loss of control over eating.
- Binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:
- eating much faster than normal
- eating until uncomfortably full
- eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
- eating alone because of embarrassment about overeating
- feeling disgusted, depressed, or very guilty after overeating
- Binge eating episodes occur at least two days per week for at least six months.
Binge eating is not associated with inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as:
- purging
- fasting
- excessive exercise
In addition, binge eating does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.