What causes binge eating?
- Lindsay Helton
- Feb 4
- 5 min read
Many clients we work with struggle with binge eating. Binge eating, like many other eating disorder behaviors, often comes with a great deal of shame, embarrassment, and guilt. Often times people wonder "why is this happening?" and the confusion can lead to even more feelings of helplessness and loneliness. We hope this post will help lead to greater understanding and compassion rather than self-judgment.
First, let's define what binge eating is.
In the DSM-5, a binge eating episode involves eating a definitely larger amount of food in a discrete time (e.g., 2 hours) with a sense of lack of control, plus at least three associated features like rapid eating, eating to discomfort, eating large amounts when not hungry, eating alone due to embarrassment, or feeling disgusted/depressed afterward, occurring weekly for three months with distress.
To break that down- it's not "just" eating a large amount of food. The key components are an objective binge (eating more than most people would within 2 hours) PLUS at least 3 of the following:
Rapid eating during the binge
The binge episode leads to uncomfortable fullness
Eating large amounts when not hungry
Eating alone due to embarrassment of the amount of food
Feeling guilty, disgusted, and/or depressed after
For a formal diagnosis, these episodes occur at least once a week for three months.
Almost everyone we work with who experiences binges feels completely alone in their experience. Because binge eating isn't talked about openly very often, many people suffer in silence and isolation.
One thing we often remind clients is that binge eating disorder is actually the second most common eating disorder, behind OSFED which is Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) binge eating disorder (often abbreviated as BED) impacts approximately:
2.7% of women
1.7% of men
1.8% of adolescents.
If you are struggling with binge eating, you are not alone!
It's important to note that you deserve support and understanding regardless of if you meet the diagnosis criteria. If you have one binge and it caused distress, if you aren't sure if your binge technically meets criteria, or you binge less frequently than the criteria and it's consuming your life - you deserve support and relief. Diagnoses can be helpful for treatment and insurance purposes, and even validation for some folks, but they are not a requirement for getting support.
So what actually causes a binge?
There is no single cause of binge eating. In our practice we see many, many factors that can contribute to a binge, and sometimes they overlap. There is no way we could cover every example, because each person and their experience is so different! Overall, though, we'd break things down into these 4 categories:
Restriction (physical)
Restriction (mental or "sneaky" restriction)
Related to emotions: stress, overwhelm, anxiety, boredom, depression
Trauma
Let's break each one down.
Restriction (physical)
In most cases of bingeing, some form of restriction is present. Physical restriction might look like:
Skipping meals in an effort to be "good," followed by intense hunger at the end of the day that leads to a binge
Chronically undereating and eventually bingeing in response
When you don't eat enough, your body remembers and will try to get its needs met. This can present as a binge. Additionally, if you start eating when you're extremely hungry, you're much more likely to wind up extremely full rather than starting and ending at more comfortable places. Your body is trying to catch up quickly!
If you think restriction is playing a role in your binges, we encourage folks (like we always do for everyone!) to work on eating more adequately. Once you feel sure you're meeting your needs for at least a few weeks, you may be able to tell a difference. For many people, it can take longer periods of consistent nourishment to see a change. If binges are still occuring in the absence of restricting, other factors like the ones below may be at play.
There is also a strong link between food insecurity and binge eating. This can happen in the short, immediate term - experiencing restriction due to not having enough food, and then eating large amounts when it is available, which makes perfect sense. This can also continue even after food access improves.
Restriction (mental or "sneaky")
This one is a little harder to spot. In these situations, someone may technically be eating enough food, but mentally restricting in ways that still drive binge eating. This can look like:
Eating enough food but avoiding entire groups of food or certain foods (often carbs or sweets)
Eating the food but having a constant internal narrative about why you "shouldn't" be eating them
Eating food but already planning ahead to restricting at another time- "diet starts on Monday" or "I'll be better tomorrow"
Even just the thought of restriction can trigger a binge - the body and mind do not like to be undernourished!
Emotion-related
Binge eating can also be closely tied to emotions. Stress, anxiety, depression, isolation, loneliness, and overwhelm are all emotions that might lead someone to turn to food. This makes complete sense, and often times clients tell us that it does help in the moment sometimes, even if the feeling of relief is fleeting. Food can be comforting and soothing in the moment. Understanding this, and even working on accepting that sometimes we will turn to food, can help reduce shame and open opportunities to get curious about other ways to cope with emotions over time. This is also one reason we often encourage clients seeing us to also work with a therapist - they can be so helpful in this realm, in addition to many others.
Trauma
There is a strong connection between experiencing trauma and an eating disorder, including binge eating disorder. Binge eating may develop as a way to cope with overwhelming and harmful experiences, memories, and emotions. Some people notice increased binge eating around difficult times of the year or specific triggers.
According to NEDA, " Trauma is any deeply distressing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. It can take many forms—childhood abuse, neglect, sexual violence, or even systemic oppression—and leaves lasting imprints on both the mind and body. For some individuals, eating disorders develop as a way to manage the overwhelming emotions or memories tied to trauma."
Discrimination is also a form of trauma we want to highlight. Discrimination and systemic oppression of any kind puts folks at higher risk of developing eating disorders. Research shows that adolescents who experience racial or ethnic discrimination are significantly more likely to develop binge eating disorder, and experiencing weight stigma is also strongly linked to binge eating behaviors.
Binge eating is NOT a failure of willpower or discipline. So many times it is a response to restriction, overwhelming emotions, trauma, and/or unmet needs, and it makes sense when we can approach it with curiosity and see what is at play. Understanding why binge eating happens can be an important first step.
We hope this blog post gives you greater understanding about what can lead to a binge. If you struggle with binge eating, you are absolutely not alone and you deserve support. We work with many clients who struggle with binge eating and would love to hear from you. We see clients in person at our offices in Cornelius, NC and Charlotte, NC and also offer telehealth appointments to residents of NC, SC, and a handful of other states.
You can learn more about working with us here, schedule a discovery call to learn more, or reach out via contact form if you're ready to get started.
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