Binge eating or feeling out of control while consuming a large amount of food in a discrete time period, occurring at a significant frequency, is characteristic of several eating disorders, most notably Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED). The binge eating is sometimes followed by compensatory behaviours like self-induced vomiting (BN), can be associated with overweight and obesity (BED) and is often highly distressing and resistant to treatment. About 1.5% of adult individuals will have BN and approximately 3.0 will have BED at some point in their life. There are many factors that contribute to binge eating behaviours, including psychosocial aspects such as stress and lifestyle, biology including genetics, gender and hormonal influences, and comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression.
With this special issue on binge eating in Journal of Eating Disorders, we would like to publish the current research in order to stimulate further investigation on the topic, especially within the eating disorder research community.
Guest Editors: Professor Guido Frank, Professor Allan Kaplan, Professor Katrin Giel, and Associate Editor Professor Jose Appolinario