Gender differences in perceptions and consequences of an eating binge

Little systematic research has examined the factors that contribute to perceptions of an eating binge. This study showed videotapes of a single male, single female, or three females eating a variable number of doughnuts at different rates to male and female undergraduate subjects. Subjects were asked to label their own eating as a binge or not, had they eaten like the person on the videotape, and how they would feel afterward. The majority of female subject labeled their own eating as a binge under all conditions, and endorsed negative emotional outcomes. Males required a large number of doughnuts, or rapid consumption before the majority labeled it a binge, and experienced mostly gastrointestinal outcomes. Many noneating disordered women in our culture may be labeling much of their eating as a binge and experience dysphoria afterward.