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Table 1 Diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder a

From: Binge eating symptoms prevalence and relationship with psychosocial factors among female undergraduate students at Palestine Polytechnic University: a cross-sectional study

A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating, an episode being characterized by:

1) Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., in any 2-h period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time

2) A sense of lack of control during the episodes, e.g., a feeling that one can’t stop eating or control what or how much one is eating

B. During most binge episodes, at least three of the following behavioural indicators of loss of control:

1) Eating much more rapidly than usual

2) Eating until feeling uncomfortably full

3) Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry

4) Eating large amounts of food throughout the day with no planned mealtimes

5) Eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating

6) Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or feeling very guilty after overeating

C. Marked distress regarding binge eating.

D. The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once per week for the past 3 months.

E. The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior as in bulimia nervosa and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa

  1. a Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (©2013). American Psychiatric Association [1]