Binge eating disorder (BED) can be a challenging and isolating experience, affecting lots of people throughout the UK. In this guide, we’ll explore what BED is, the signs and symptoms to look out for, and the treatment options available. From private rehab options to the potential role of medication, we can help you to navigate the journey towards recovery.
BED, also known as ‘compulsive eating disorder’, is a common condition that’s now widely recognised as an eating disorder. BED involves people binge eating on a regular basis. Binge eating is when someone consumes a large amount of food within a single sitting, regardless of whether or not they’re hungry. People with BED often feel as though they’ve lost control during these bingeing episodes, and eat in a frenzied and compulsive manner.
Unlike other eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, people with BED don’t show any purging behaviours, such as making themselves sick or exercising excessively. This means that the constant overeating associated with BED can cause obesity and other related complications.
Another difference between BED and other eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, is that binge eating is more commonly associated with depression and an inability to regulate emotions, whereas anorexia and bulimia are more commonly associated with anxiety and an inability to regulate thoughts.
It’s estimated that BED affects around 1.5% of the UK population. BED tends to affect both men and women equally, and research suggests that this condition is more common in adults between the ages of 20 and 40. However, it’s important to understand that anyone can develop BED, regardless of their age, gender or background. For more information on the prevalence and statistics of BED, you can visit our eating disorder statistics page.
BED can have serious physical and emotional consequences. Recognising the seriousness of this condition is a crucial first step towards getting treatment and support.
If you think you might be struggling with BED, the following are all signs and symptoms to look out for:
Also, without effective treatment and support, BED can develop into serious medical complications. These include:
Left untreated, these complications can have a negative impact on your quality of life, and might even reduce your life expectancy.
People with BED might turn to binge eating as a way of coping with other mental health problems and uncomfortable emotions. However, it’s still possible for binge eating to develop without any clear cause.
Other reasons that people might binge eat include:
The good news is that if you’re dealing with BED, you don’t have to go through it all by yourself. Specialist support is available to help you regain control over your eating habits, overcome any underlying causes, and take steps towards recovery.
If your BED is severe and is having a destructive impact on your daily life, you might benefit from inpatient eating disorder treatment. This is when you stay at a specialist treatment centre on a residential basis, to receive intensive support. Inpatient treatment for BED will include round-the-clock support, structured meal plans, comprehensive therapy and a supportive environment.
Outpatient treatment may be suitable for you if you have a milder form of BED. This might take the form of day care, where you attend a treatment centre for a number of full or half days per week, to receive eating disorder therapy. Or it might include you attending therapy for weekly sessions. Either way, outpatient treatment doesn’t involve you staying in hospital, meaning you can still participate in your normal daily activities and routines, while getting the ongoing support you need.
Talking therapy is one of the most effective treatment methods for eating disorders like BED. All three talking therapies listed below can be used in inpatient and outpatient settings, depending on your individual needs and how severe your BED is.
In some cases, mental health professionals might prescribe medication to you to help manage your BED. One medication in particular that can be useful when it comes to BED is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) known as sertraline.
While medication isn’t the first line of treatment when it comes to BED, it can be useful in a number of different ways. These include:
It’s important to understand that SSRIs aren’t a standalone treatment for BED, and are usually used alongside other methods. All treatment decisions should be made in consultation with a trained healthcare professional. They’ll be able to assess your needs and tailor your treatment accordingly.
At Priory, we offer specialist rehab for binge eating. When it comes to treating BED, our comprehensive approach includes:
We can offer inpatient, day care or outpatient programmes and will make sure that all treatment is tailored to your individual needs. We also offer online resources and information so you can educate yourself about BED and the treatment options available. In addition, we offer private binge eating treatment for children and young people as part of our dedicated private CAMHS provision.
If you or someone you know is struggling with BED, it’s important to understand that you’re not alone. There are a wide range of treatments, support networks and dedicated resources available to help you overcome your BED. The most crucial first step is to reach out for help.
People with BED often turn to binge eating as a means of coping with other mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress and other uncomfortable emotions. Rarely, the condition can exist just on its own.
Other reasons include:
Although sometimes, there may not be any identifiable reason for someone to start or maintain the binge eating.
Without effective treatment and support, BED can develop into serious medical complications.
These include:
Left untreated, these complications can have a negative impact on your quality of life, as well as potentially reduce life expectancy.
It’s important to remember that binge eating is a treatable condition and with support, these medical complications can be avoided.
When examining the features of BED, this condition appears to be very similar to food addiction, which is a form of behavioural addiction. However, it's important to recognise that there is a clear distinction between the two.
BED is a diagnosable and formally classified eating disorder, which often results from a combination of complex factors including emotional, environmental, biological and psychosocial influences.
Food addiction develops as a result of the physical reaction that someone experiences after consuming certain foods, and as such, is more biochemical in nature than BED.
The difficulty in food addiction lies more with the type of food and how someone reacts to it. However, in BED, the problem lies in the urge or drive to eat food of any type.
BED tends to affects both men and women equally and research suggests that this condition is more common in adults between the ages of 20 and 40. For more information on the prevalence and statistics that are associated with binge eating, you can visit our eating disorder statistics page.
That’s not to say binge eating can’t affect people outside that age bracket. BED can also affect young people, although BED treatment for someone under 18 may differ from someone over the age of 18, such as a comprehensive range of educational services and accredited on-site assessment facilities to ensure that your child receives continuous educational provision, suitable to their needs and abilities.
We provide a full education programme for young people who are receiving inpatient treatment at Priory for BED. More information on the eating disorder support that we offer for young people can be found on our private mental health services for children page.
Priory’s customer service team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that people in crisis can be signposted to the best possible support, as quickly as possible. We also have crisis support information online.
The specialist teams at our residential facilities can help to stabilise people in need of immediate assistance for their BED or other mental health concerns.
