Disordered eating in obese individuals

Purpose of review This article provides an overview of current thinking about the association between disordered eating and obesity, emphasizing binge eating, binge eating disorder and food addiction as useful conceptual models. Recent findings Binge eating, recurrent and persistent episodes of overeating coupled with a lack of control over eating, and binge eating disorder, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 mental disorder, have been a major focus of work to clarify the relationship between disordered eating and obesity. A second focus has been the addiction model of aberrant eating, which posits that recurrent overeating of palatable food is similar to addictive behavior and characterized by dysregulation of the dopaminergic reward system. We describe efforts to integrate these models by focusing on binge eating phenotypes as the subgroup of obese individuals characterized by disordered eating. Examples of empirical work based on these models are provided, as well as selected studies that reflect the burgeoning literature focusing on addictive and feeding behaviors across multiple domains and levels of analysis. Summary Research evidence to explain similarities and differences across levels of BMI and varying aspects of feeding behavior may promote the identification of novel interventions that address weight and eating problems.