Synonyms
Psychogenic Hyperphagia, Binge Eating Disorder
Definition
With the Binge Eating Disorder there are recurring “gluttony attacks”. These are very, very uncomfortable for the patient and often lead to great disgust with oneself. The eating attacks occur several times a week and there are no weight-regulating measures (vomiting, laxatives etc. ).
Epidemiology
There are still relatively few reliable statements about the frequency of binge-eating disorders/psychogenic hyperphagia. According to a study (Testam and Agras 1995) the frequency in the Norwegian population is about 1.5%. Another study (Johnson and Spitzer 2001) distinguishes between the age groups of women. Here the frequency was estimated at 1% for young women, 3.3% for middle-aged women and 8.8% for older women.
Differential diagnoses
Patients who suffer from obesity (overweight) can also suffer from ravenous appetite attacks. However, conspicuous eating behaviour can also be associated with various physical illnesses (diabetes mellitus, brain tumours, etc.). As a rule, the eating behaviour of overweight people differs from binge eating. Last but not least, from a therapeutic point of view, it must be remembered that patients with the symptoms of schizophrenia can also show very conspicuous eating behaviour.
Summary
In addition to the repeated eating attacks (similar to bulimia: large amounts in comparatively short periods of time), patients with binge-eating disorder also experience other changes in eating behaviour. Patients eat much faster than normal, they eat until an unpleasant feeling of fullness (“until bursting”). Nor does a feeling of hunger have to be present to eat large quantities of food.
As a rule, patients eat alone during the seizures because they are ashamed of the quantities. After such a seizure, the patients are usually overwhelmed by excessive feelings of guilt, which leads to a significant drop in mood (depression). Despite the suffering associated with the seizures, they occur several times a week and are not attempted to be compensated by weight-regulating measures.
Therapy
To get information about the therapy of Binge – Eating – Disorder please follow the link: Therapy Binge – Eating – Disorder
