Someone with binge eating disorder will engage in binge episodes at least once a week in which they experience marked distress and eat abnormally large amounts of food, eat very rapidly, or continue to eat past the point of being uncomfortably full. The eating behaviour differs from that expected if you were to sit down to a regular meal.
The binge episodes share many of the same qualities as with bulimia, such as being conducted in secrecy, associated with feelings of shame and guilt, and a loss of control over eating. A person with a binge eating disorder however will not regularly engage in compensatory purging behaviours to prevent weight gain. For this reason, weight can steadily increase over time and puts the person at risk of obesity, and associated health problems.
Some common symptoms of binge eating disorder are:
- low mood
- emotional behaviour
- guilt after eating
- weight gain
- high blood pressure and cholesterol
- increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease
