Binge Eating Disorder Among Women on the Rise

GlobalData revealed that 63% of women suffer from binge eating disorder (BED) in the seven major markets (7MM*)GlobalData is a leading data and analytics company.

Other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) have also shown a clear female bias in the number of people diagnosed with these disorders.

‘BED is an eating disorder involving the regular consumption of oversized portions of food in a short period of time, to the point of feeling uncomfortably full.’

Katie Wrenn, MPH, Associate Epidemiologist at GlobalData, said: "This bias can be explained by biological and sociocultural differences between men and women. In BED, the increased diagnosed prevalence in women could be explained by the increased pressure for thinness in women created by society, or by greater prenatal testosterone in males providing a protective factor against binge eating.

It has also been shown that men are less likely to report distress from binge eating, a symptom required in the diagnosis of BED, according to American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Therefore, this lower rate of men diagnosed with BED in comparison with women could be due to men being less likely to meet the full DSM-5 criteria."

Following this period of lack of self-control, individuals often develop feelings of guilt, distress, and embarrassment.

*7MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan

Source: Medindia