Reprinted from Eating Disorders Review
November/December 2003 Volume 14, Number 6
©2003 Gürze Books
Eating disorders often present differently in children and adults, and criteria for diagnosing binge-eating problems among adults may not fit those for children. To stimulate discussion and study, two researchers have proposed a new set of research criteria for diagnosing binge eating disorders (BED) among children.
Marsha Marcus, PhD, and Melissa A. Kalarchian, PhD, of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, suggest that when assessing BED in children, loss of control over eating may be more important than eating an objectively large amount of food. Also, dieting may not be consistently associated with binge eating in children (Int J Eat Disord 2003; 34:S47).
The proposed criteria are shown in the table, below. The researchers also report that there is a need for research to clarify relationships among depression and eating and weight problems in children and adolescents. In addition, they stress that due to the alarming increase in obesity among ethnic minority children, a better understanding of binge eating in minority populations is critically important.
Proposed Binge Eating Disorder Research Criteria for Children
A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. Thus far, criteria are being established to specify how often such episodes occur.
An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:
- 1. Food-seeking in the absence of hunger (e.g., after a full meal)
- A sense of lack of control over eating (e.g., “When I start to eat, I just can’t stop”)
B. Binge eating episodes are associated with one or more of the following:
- Food-seeking in response to negative affect (e.g., sadness, boredom, restlessness)
- Food-seeking as a reward
- Sneaking or hiding food
C. Symptoms persist over a period of at least 3 months. *
D. Eating is not associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging, fasting, excessive exercise), and does not occur exclusively during the course of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa).
*At some point, determining frequency, in addition to the 3-month criterion, will be necessary.