Food addiction a step closer to formal diagnostic status – or not?

Food addiction is not yet recognized as a mental disorder but certain obese individuals clearly display addictive-like behaviour towards food. To achieve a formal diagnostic status, ‘food addiction’ requires a stronger evidence base to support the claim that certain ingredients have addictive properties identical to addictive drugs of abuse.

Mobile tech and talk therapies strike at the moment binge eating urges do

Two new treatment methods under investigation aim to help people reduce behavior associated with binge-eating disorder, which this week was reported twice as common as bulimia. A smartphone app in development will track users’ individual patterns of behavior and alert them when they are at risk, among a comprehensive suite of other features. Another treatment is a new approach to small-group behavioral therapy to improve upon standard treatments for binge eating disorder.

Scientists identify brain circuitry that triggers overeating

Researchers have pinpointed the precise cellular connections responsible for triggering binge eating. The finding lends insight into a cause for obesity and could lead to treatments for anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder — the most prevalent eating disorder in the U.S.

Past weight loss an overlooked factor in disordered eating

The focus of eating disorder research has largely been on the state of patients’ thoughts, beliefs and emotions, with historically little focus on how current and past body weights contribute. A flurry of studies suggest that past body weight and relative weight loss should be taken into account.

Hunger pains

Binge-eating disorder, only recently designated as a diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association in its official diagnostic manual of mental conditions, is associated with lifelong impairments comparable to those of bulimia nervosa, a long-established eating disorder with more dramatic symptoms.