Binge Eating Symptoms

Binge eating symptoms are not quite the same as symptoms of other eating disorders, so they may be easy to miss. Common binge eating symptoms include eating more rapidly than normal, eating until uncomfortably full, and eating large amounts of food even when not physically hungry. Fasting, purging, and excessive exercise are not binge eating symptoms.

 

Binge Eating Symptoms: An Overview

Community surveys have estimated that between 2 percent and 5 percent of Americans have binge eating symptoms.
 
People with binge eating disorder experience frequent episodes of out-of-control eating, with the same binge eating symptoms as those with bulimia. The main difference is that individuals with binge eating disorder do not purge their bodies of excess calories. Therefore, many with the disorder are overweight for their age and height. Feelings of self-disgust and shame associated with this illness can lead to more binges, creating a cycle of binge eating.
 

Specific Binge Eating Symptoms

Symptoms of binge eating disorder include:
 
  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating, characterized by eating an excessive amount of food within a discrete period of time
  • Feelings of having no control over eating during the episodes.
 
Other binge eating symptoms can include the following:
 
  • Eating much more rapidly than normal
  • Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
  • Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
  • Eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating
  • Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or guilty after overeating
  • Feeling marked distress about the binge eating behavior.
     
Binge eating symptoms are not associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (for example, purging, fasting, and excessive exercise).
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD