Learn the Relationship Between Eating Disorders and Depression

What Causes Binge Eating Disorder and How It May Lead to Depression

Those who suffer from binge-eating disorder often engage in binge-eating episodes. The average length of one of these bouts is two to three hours. They have no control over their eating habits during this time, and they consume far more food than is healthy for them.

Those who suffer from binge eating disorder may find themselves in a never-ending spiral of bingeing and purging. They may suffer from low self-esteem or bad body image, which causes them to diet severely or avoid eating the foods they prefer.

After struggling with their weight for a long time, people may find temporary solace in binge eating. If the person is also suffering from depression, the cycle has the potential to become even more destructive. They may resort to binge eating as a means of comfort, which might exacerbate their melancholy.

One analysis concluded that studies examining the relationship between binge eating disorder and depression had yielded conflicting results. Some studies, however, have revealed that people with binge-eating disorder are more likely to be depressed and have a poorer quality of life than those who do not suffer from binge-eating disorder.

Weight gain is a common symptom of binge-eating disorder. Statistics show that persons who are overweight are more likely to experience depression than those who are of normal weight. However, a study showed that the depression rates of obese people with binge-eating disorders were much greater than those of obese people without the disorder.

Depressive Symptoms with Bulimia

Binge eating and subsequent purging are characteristic of the eating disorder bulimia nervosa. Like those who suffer from binge eating disorder, those with bulimia will have periods of binge eating. They then resort to unhealthy “purges,” such as self-induced vomiting, in an effort to get rid of the extra calories they’ve consumed.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that bulimia sufferers are more likely to also experience depression than those with other types of eating disorders. More than twice as many patients with bulimia as with anorexia also suffer from a mood illness like depression.