Your Genes: appetite and binge eating

What is binge eating?

Binge eating is characterised by episodes of rapid, uncontrolled, and excessive food consumption. These episodes are not necessarily driven by hunger, or metabolic need and individuals will tend to eat until they feel uncomfortably full¹. 

The biology behind binge eating

Men and women of any age can develop a binge-eating disorder, but it typically starts in the late teens or early 20s¹⁰. Many factors, such as dieting, strict food-restriction stress and haphazard meal planning, have been shown to increase the risk of binge eating^{6,7, 8,9}. Many studies have also indicated that genes influence a person’s predisposition to this condition too^{11,12,13,14,15}.

Your DNA

Other than the likelihood of being genetically affected by binge eating, emotional eating is also important to understand. Emotional eating is often a learned behaviour (for example, when an upset child receives ice-cream, it may contribute to an unhealthy association between being upset and eating comfort food). Taking everything into consideration, it’s clear that binge eating is a complex multifactorial condition that can be influenced by an individual’s emotional state. If you feel that you’re experiencing binge-eating tendencies, the best thing to do is talk to your GP.

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Scientific publications

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17370289
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-13304-4.
3. https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4202
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20406574
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24827639
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2694569/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8655907/
8. Waters A. (2001), ‘Internal and external antecedents of binge eating episodes in a group of women with bulimia nervosa’, Int J Eat Disord, 29(1):17-22
9. Davis, C. et. al, (2007), ‘Personality and eating behaviours: A case-control study of binge eating disorder’, International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40:243-250
10. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/binge-eating/
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12655626
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26258270
13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=24827639
14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=20406574
15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24066140
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4160