Should Binge-Eating Disorder Be a Formal Diagnosis?

Its name is widely used in literature on eating disorders, but binge-eating disorder (BED) is not yet an official psychiatric diagnosis. New research suggests that it should be.

The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, included 2,900 men and women from across the United States. Researchers found that 2.8 percent of those studied would qualify for a diagnosis of BED. That rate was considerably higher than the rates for anorexia nervosa (0.6 percent) and bulimia nervosa (1 percent) combined (Bakalar, 2007).

Endorsing Binge-Eating Disorder as a Diagnosis

Binge-eating disorder is under consideration for full inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Binge eating is often associated with bulimia, but as the study mentioned shows, most people who binge digest their food rather than purge it.

Making BED a full diagnosis is significant because insurance providers want documented evidence of a problem before paying.

Payment for other eating disorders is already difficult to obtain because of many companies' claim that eating disorders are behavioral issues that they should not have to cover. But a formal diagnosis for BED means that insurance companies will at least have to decide what to do with it. And that's better than ignoring it.

BED, Overeating, and Obesity

It's important to note that while many people sometimes overeat in a way that qualifies as a binge, binge-eating disorder represents a specific set of symptoms, including feeling out of control about binging.

While most who are obese do not have binge-eating disorder, there is a significant population of obese persons who do. The correlation is stronger when focusing strictly on BED and severe obesity--a body mass index of 40 or more (Yanovski, 2003).

Future Focus

The medical community is very concerned about the rate of obesity in the United States, but there is relatively little focus on disordered eating as a contributor. As research accumulates, a major question will be whether obesity generally results from poor food choices, from emotional issues that lead to overeating, or both.

Sources

Bakalar, Nicholas. February 13, 2007. Survey Puts New Focus on Binge Eating as a Diagnosis. New York Times, Health Section, Onlne Edition.

Yanovski, Susan G. 2003. "Binge Eating Disorder and Obesity in 2003: Could Treating an Eating Disorder Have a Positive Effect on the Obesity Epidemic?" International Journal of Eating Disorders 34 (Suppl), pp. S117-S120.

Hudson, James I., Eva Hiripi, Harrison G. Pope, Jr., and Ronald Kessler. February 2007. "The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication." Biological Psychiatry 61 (3), pp. 348-358.