Binge Eating Disorder Quiz

For each "yes" answer to the questions below, give yourself one point. The more points you have, the more likely you have binge eating disorder.

Do you have recurring episodes of binge eating (where you eat large amounts of food in one sitting) that are not followed by efforts to compensate such as vomiting or misusing laxatives?

Do you binge eat at least once a week (or more)?

When you binge, do you feel unable to control what or how much you are eating?

Do you usually eat faster than normal during binges?

Do you often eat well past the point of feeling full?

Do you hide your binges or binge foods?

Do you prefer to be alone while binging?

Do you binge eat in response to uncomfortable emotions, such as sadness or guilt?

Do you feel “checked out” or like you’re on “autopilot” while binging?

Do you feel emotionally numb after binging?

Are you embarrassed or ashamed of what/how much you eat?

Do you have difficulty describing your feelings to others?

Do you think most of your problems would be solved if you could just lose enough weight?

Were you raised in an abusive or neglectful environment?

Are you often depressed, angry or irritable?

Do you have difficulty coping with stress?

Do you often eat even if you are not hungry?

Do you feel extremely distressed about your inability to stop binge eating?

Do you often eat until you feel sick?

Do you have rituals surrounding eating or binging? (Needing food to be “just right”, wanting it to be assembled in a certain order or any other ritualistic habit.)

Are you often thinking about topics related to eating, weight or body shape and or dieting?

Do you feel like no matter how hard you try, you never can seem to control your eating habits?

Were you exposed to frequent negative comments about weight and shape as a child?

Do you generally have difficulty controlling your impulses?

Excluding food, do you have or have you ever had a substance abuse problem?

Do you feel excessive anxiety is a problem in your life, or do you have strong phobias or any anxiety disorder?

Do you feel like you are addicted to food?

Do you feel your problem with eating, dieting and weight/shape has a big impact on your life?

Score

Add up the number of “yes” answers from your quiz. Then use the information below to find out more about your score.

8-28: You have some of the symptoms of binge eating disorder. The more “yes” answers on your quiz, the more likely it is that you have BED.

1-7: You have very few of the symptoms of binge eating disorder. However, if you are feeling distressed about your eating habits, you should still seek help. Even if you do not have BED, your concerns are still valid.

I think I have BED. What now?

If you believe you have binge eating disorder, first realize that you are not alone. BED is common. Other eating disorders are also common, as are disordered eating behaviors (such as emotional overeating). All together, that means there are many people out there who struggle with their eating habits.

Many of those people (and our society in general) think the solution to BED is to go on a diet. The problem with that idea is that it does not address the underlying emotional issues that caused the binge eating. That means that the problem hasn’t really been solved and it will return.

Tackling the real issues at the root of BED is more difficult, but doing so greatly increases the odds that you’ll overcome it.

There are many different treatments for BED and the conditions commonly comorbid with it. Each person must choose the treatment(s) that are best for him. The one treatment option that is useful to anyone with BED is treatment offered by a therapist or doctor specializing in eating disorders. Most of us with BED have tried everything we can think of to solve this problem, but still have not put it behind us. At some point, we have to accept that doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result is pointless. It makes more sense to seek the help of someone who understands this sort of condition very well.

I don’t think I have BED, but I have an eating problem I’m very concerned about. What can I do?

If you have a problem similar to BED and it causes you distress or greatly impacts your life, you can look for information on other related disorders (see below). You can also consult with a therapist or psychiatrist that specializes in eating disorders. Even if you do not have an eating disorder, there is help available for you. Just because you haven’t found a label for your problem doesn’t mean it’s not valid. If you think it’s a problem, it is!

Some of the conditions that might cause symptoms similar to BED include:

Night Eating Syndrome, a condition where someone skips meals in the morning and then gets extremely hungry at night. Night Eating Syndrome is associated with insomnia. In this condition, the person that gets hungry at night is completely awake.

Bulimia, an eating disorder that is very similar to BED except that bulimics purge after binging. Purging behaviors include inducing vomiting, misusing laxatives, excessive exercise and fasting. The bulimic purges in an effort to make up for the binging behavior.

Purging Disorder, where someone purges (induces vomiting, misuses laxatives, exercises excessively or fasts) to control weight gain but does not binge beforehand.

Chewing and Spitting, a disordered eating behavior where someone chews up food and then spits it out instead of swallowing it.

Compulsive Eating (or Emotional Eating), a condition similar to BED except that there isn’t frequent binging present. However, despite the smaller quantities of food involved, those with compulsive eating habits feel a loss of control over what they eat. They are often quite distressed about their eating and their weight or body shape.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a condition that can be comorbid with BED or completely separate. People with body dysmorphic disorder obsess and ruminate about a flaw (or perceived flaw) on their bodies. This can be as extreme as seeing a flaw where there is none. People with this disorder have altered perception of how their own bodies look.

Pica, a disorder where someone feels a compulsive craving to eat, chew or lick something that is not a food/drink (or it is a food with no nutritional value, such as baking soda or coffee grounds). People with pica may crave things like chalk, ice, cigarette ashes, paint chips or plaster.

Drunkorexia, a disordered eating behavior where someone eats less food to “save” calories for drinking alcohol. Drunkorexia can also involve excessive exercise meant to “make up” for the extra calories consumed from drinking alcohol. Finally, in some instances, people with drunkorexia may consume enough alcohol to vomit for the purpose of purging food they previously ate.

Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder, or “Sleep Eating”, a sleeping disorder that is also an eating disorder. Sleep eating is when someone who is asleep gets up and goes looking for food to eat. During this time, she does not wake up and is unaware that she is eating. Usually, the person who is sleep eating will binge on food and eat in a fast, out of control manner. She is also likely to eat foods that are unusual or substances that are not food at all. Examples could include buttered cigarettes, a salt sandwich and frozen TV dinners left uncooked.