Is Binge Eating Always the Same Problem?

Binge-eating disorder (BED), a proposed diagnosis, is distinguished from bulimia nervosa (BN) by the absence of purging or restriction, and thus people with BED are usually overweight or obese, whereas bulimia patients commonly have normal weight. Researchers in Austria examined differences in 31 women with similar bingeing severity; 17 were normal-weight women with BN (purging type), and 14 were obese women with BED. Controls were 19 normal-weight women and 17 obese women; the two normal-weight groups had comparable mean body-mass index, as did the two obese groups.

Subjects underwent functional MRI while viewing pictures of high-calorie foods (e.g., French fries), items expected to induce disgust (e.g., maggots), and neutral items (househo…