Binge Eating Disorder
People with a binge-eating disorder have episodes of binging (eating a large amount of food in a very short period of time and feeling out of control during the eating episode) – unlike bulimia, they do not make up for binging with purging behaviors (laxatives/diuretics, vomiting), excessive exercise or fasting. People who struggle with a binge eating disorder binge at least once a week for three months or longer.
Though they can be normal weight, people with binge-eating disorder are often overweight or obese – they feel ashamed of their eating problems and try to eat in secrecy or with as much privacy as possible. After a binge, they can feel strong emotions such as shame, disgust, frustration, guilt and sadness.
Binge-eating disorder can lead to obesity and health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.