ABSTRACT
Clinical experience suggests that eating disturbances are very common among obese individuals, although there is no epidemiological survey to confirm this. In 1959, A. J. Stunkard described three abnormal eating patterns among the obese population: binge eating, night eating, and eating without satiation. The concept of a binge eating episode is derived from the Greek term bulimia, or ox-appetite, a form of hunger first recognized by Hippocrates as definitely pathological. By self-report, Binge eating disorder (BED) individuals have higher food intake than non-BED individuals, are more prone to emotional eating, i.e., eating when distressed or anxious, and are more prone to eating after a period of dietary restraint. Mutations in the melanocortin 4 receptor gene may be associated with binge eating and obesity. Earlier feeding laboratory studies of BED have been reviewed by B. T. Walsh and G. Boudreau. This direct observation approach to study feeding under controlled circumstances circumvents some of the shortcomings of self-report studies.
