BINGE EATING RECOMMENDED AS A PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS; OBESITY IS NOT

(June 1, 2010)

Binge eating should be included as an official psychiatric disorder in new mental health guidelines, but obesity should not, a group of medical experts is recommending.

…After reviewing research, the work group cited scientific evidence that binge eating tended to run in families, had a distinct demographic profile with a greater likelihood of male cases, older age, a later onset of the disorder and personality disturbances...

…In the current DSM, binge eating had been under the category known as "eating disorder not otherwise specified," also known as EDNOS.

…"It's been problematic because it doesn''''t fit a lot of people -- women on birth control, girls who haven't started menstruating and boys and men," Dr. B. Timothy Walsh, the chair of DSM-V's eating disorders work group. "We recommend the criteria be dropped."

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