Why do i binge eat quiz

Binge-Eating Disorder Test & Screening. Get Instant Results.

Eating DisordersBinge Eating Disorder

Complete the following quiz to get an instant assessment on whether you or a loved one is displaying signs of Binge-Eating Disorder (BED).

Jan 18, 2022

Medical ReviewerSophie Abber, MS

Who Is This Binge-Eating Disorder Quiz For?

Could you be suffering from Binge-Eating Disorder?

Binge-Eating Disorder is a recognized eating disorder like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It can happen to women and men, children, teens and adults. Binge-Eating Disorder can be treated with psychotherapy that aims to teach the patient to recognize their emotional eating triggers, and to use food to sate hunger rather than provide comfort.

Below is a list of questions that relate to life experiences common among people who have been diagnosed with Binge-Eating Disorder. Please read each question carefully, and indicate how often you have experienced the same or similar challenges in the past few months.

How Accurate Is It?

This quiz is NOT a diagnostic tool. Mental health disorders can only be diagnosed by a licensed mental health provider or doctor. But Psycom believes assessments can be a valuable first step toward getting treatment.

Your privacy is important to us. All results are completely anonymous.

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Binge-Eating Disorder FAQs

How do you know if you have Binge-Eating Disorder?

If every so often you eat a tremendous amount of food at one sitting, you may worry that you have a binge eating disorder. There is binge eating, and then there is Binge-Eating Disorder.

Binge eating encompasses a wide range of eating patterns.

“A person may have heard that fasting is good for them, so they fast all day and then binge,” says Monica Bearden, RD, LD, CSSD, Consultant in Sports Nutrition at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in Houston, Texas. “Binge eating is disordered eating that could turn into an eating disorder. It is often due to a lack of education about how to eat. Or it could be someone who is busy all day long and doesn’t eat, and then at night they are starving.”

Binge-Eating Disorder is more than just overeating.

“The definition of Binge-Eating Disorder is eating a large quantity of food in a relatively short time, but it is more than that,” says Ashley Jacobs, RDN. “The person also must have a sense of a lack of control. There is guilt and depression afterward.”

To be diagnosed with Binge-Eating Disorder, you must also have recurrent episodes of binge eating accompanied by a sense of lack of control. The episodes also must be associated with three of these symptoms: eating a lot faster than usual, eating until uncomfortably full, eating copious amount of food even when not physically hungry, eating alone because of a sense of embarrassment about how much you are eating, feeling guilty or depressed afterward, and experiencing distress over the eating. The binge eating must go on for at least three months and occur at least once a week.1

How does Binge-Eating Disorder differ from bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa?

One of the newest eating disorders formally recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5), Binge-Eating Disorder is separate and distinct from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

“There are no weight criteria for Binge-Eating Disorder,” says Ashley Jacobs, RDN. “Most of the time, the person who has Binge-Eating Disorder will either be a normal weight or overweight or obese.”

Binge-Eating Disorder doesn’t involve purging the way that bulimia does.

“And with anorexia, there is intentional restriction of food,” Jacobs says. “In anorexia, the person eats less than what their body needs to function.”

What causes Binge-Eating Disorder?

Binge-Eating Disorder, like other eating disorders, stems from a variety of factors. How you feel about your weight and your body shape comes into play, and BED has been linked to anxiety and depression. Your environment and your genes also can influence whether you develop Binge-Eating Disorder. For some individuals, dieting in unhealthy ways like skipping meals, avoiding certain kinds of foods, or not eating enough can influence whether you develop this disorder.2

“Having someone in your immediate family who struggles with an eating disorder puts you at risk,” says Ashley Jacobs, RDN. “Whether you are seeing a parent binge-eat in front of you or they are not eating because they are restricting calories can be very confusing for a child. The eating is being put right in front of the person.”

Binge-Eating Disorder is treatable, she says: “You need to find a provider who is compassionate so you will feel comfortable talking about it. It is important to find a mental health provider who has an expertise in eating disorders.”

What is the average age for the onset of Binge-Eating Disorder?

“The age group I see tend to be early teens and early adulthood, but I have had patients up to 70 years old,” says Ashley Jacobs, RDN. “I don’t think there is a specific age group for Binge-Eating Disorder.”

Monica Bearden, RD, LD, CSSD, Consultant in Sports Nutrition at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in Houston, Texas, says it is hard to say what age group is the most prone to develop Binge-Eating Disorder.

“It can be adolescents who are busy during the day and don’t eat and then they eat all their calories at night,” she says. “Or it can be adults who are trying to fast and then end up binging. Binge eating does affect every age group, from adolescents through adults.”

While BED is more common in younger and middle-aged people, it also is common in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: These disorders' constant focus on weight and food control may be why. In some individuals, binge eating may even contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. This can happen through excessive weight gain and the higher risk of metabolic abnormalities. People who have Binge-Eating Disorder and who have diabetes can find it harder to control their blood sugar. 3

National Eating Disorders Association. Binge Eating Disorder. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/bed
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Symptoms and causes of binge eating disorders. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/binge-eating-disorder/symptoms-causes
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Definition and facts for binge eating disorder. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/binge-eating-disorder/definition-facts#who

Notes: This article was originally published September 7, 2017 and most recently updated January 18, 2022.

Binge eating test | Quick, confidential and clinically validated

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Question 1

I feel very self-conscious about my weight and body size – it stops me from socialising

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 2

I eat meals much more quickly than others and seem to eat a lot more than others as well

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 3

I feel in control of how much I eat

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 4

I often feel desperate that I can’t be more in control of what I eat

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 5

When I am bored I can’t help but eat, nothing can distract me

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 6

I often eat, even though I am not hungry, because it is a habit

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 7

Sometimes I eat because I am ‘mouth’ hungry but I spit the food out, so I don’t put on weight

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 8

I have strong feelings of self-hate or guilt if I overeat

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 9

It’s easy for me to get back on track with a diet or healthy eating regime

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 10

My life seems to be ‘feast’ or ‘famine’ with very little moderation

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 11

I often feel uncomfortably full after eating, even to the point of making myself sick

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 12

I eat about the same amount of food every day, I rarely ‘binge’

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 13

I feel in control of my urge to eat and can distract myself

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 14

I will keep eating, even when I am full, and it has become uncomfortable

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 15

Sometimes I make myself sick because I am so uncomfortably full

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 16

I feel so self-conscious eating around other people that I will only eat small amounts

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 17

I eat three meals a day and don’t snack very often

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 18

Some days I will eat all day, with no defined meal times

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 19

Some days all I think about is food, I feel out of control

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 20

I don’t know how physically hungry I really am and think I eat more than I need

Very much so
Often
Occasionally
Not at all

Question 1 of 20

When answering the above questions please consider how they have applied to you in the last 3 months.

This test may be helpful in identifying if you are experiencing the common symptoms of a Binge Eating Disorder.The questions are based on the ‘Binge Eating Scale’ rating scale and should only be used as an indicator of whether you may be at risk of having or developing a binge eating disorder. They are not intended to replace a professional diagnosis.

Adapted from: the Binge Eating Scale rating scale.

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Why I Eat Too Much: The Psychological Causes of Overeating

The problem of overeating is almost always psychological. We eat too much food because on an ongoing basis we are sorely lacking in certain feelings, emotions, experiences ... What psychological problems do we most often replace with gluttony?

Reason #1 for overeating. Food is a substitute for love

When the stomach is filled with food, other needs are unconsciously blocked and fade into the background. This method, according to psychologists, is extremely often used by people who lack affection, attention (and especially bodily manifestations of these warm feelings!) in the family. For people deprived of psychological and physical tenderness, food becomes a kind of substitute for love and its manifestations. As a result, they cannot distinguish genuine appetite from overeating and turn into slaves of the stomach.

Why do I eat a lot? Because subconsciously I strive to take up more space in space, I strive to become bigger, wider and more noticeable - so that, finally, the attention of those people whose love I need so much will pay attention to me . ..

Donova Zh. “Food monster. Why we overeat, gain weight and how to form the right relationship with food

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As a rule, the habit of overeating is formed in early childhood. Often parents seek to satisfy the child's needs for love, affection, attention with the help of food (something sweet, something "harmful and unhealthy", etc.), and not with the help of sincere conversation, educational games, etc. .

Gradually, food begins to replace communication with loved ones in the child's subconscious, and this "scheme" of overeating matures along with him. And as a result, in adult life, it is comfortable for a person to contact with others only if there is a feeling of fullness of the stomach with food.

Overeating reason #2. Food as an antidepressant

Stress and nervous tension often cause systematic overeating. In stressful situations, we experience internal tension. Our life brings a lot of negative emotions. If things are not going well at home, or we are busy with work and have “perpetual” problems, during this difficult period it is easy to succumb to the temptation to calm ourselves with food. It turns into the best medicine for mental adversity.

Why do I eat a lot? I simply distract myself from solving numerous problems and “calm down” my nervous system…

Reason for overeating #3. Eating on the run

In everyday life, we often do not eat at home, have a snack in a hurry, eat food between main meals. Snacking at work with a cup of tea, eating sweets in front of the TV is a very common occurrence. Often we are not able to control the quantity (and quality!) of the food we eat at all. Daily overeating simply becomes the norm, consisting of countless snacks that we often do not consider food at all.

Stop breakdowns and overeating!

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Why do I eat a lot? Because I eat too often, albeit a little.

The habit of eating "on the run" often forms another harmful stereotype - neglect of food during the day. Too much to do to make a normal lunch break? And now there is no time left even for snacks? And in the end, this leads to night gluttony: when we come home from work tired and hungry “like wolves”, we literally pounce on food, unable to control the amount eaten.

Why do I eat a lot at night? Because I fast during the day.

Overeating reason #4. Well-fed means healthy...

To this day, one can hear the opinion that if everyone in a family is full and well-fed, then this is the result of maternal care and love. And, oddly enough, a sign of health! In Russian, even the word “healthy, healthy man” itself has two meanings - “healthy, it means he doesn’t get sick with anything” and “healthy means large, fat, portly”.

In the view of many adults, that food is good and correct, that “fatter and thicker”, and foods such as yogurt, fruits, raw vegetables, nuts, etc. generally not considered a complete meal. Subsequently, the same "one-sided" attitude to food is formed in the growing child.

In addition, parents often make a cult of food in relation to their children: the child is often forced to eat even when he does not want to (which means he is full), the child is rewarded with food (“Eat cutlets - you will get a cake!”), etc. . As a result, the child grows up, already accustomed by his parents to systematic overeating.

How to overcome compulsive overeating in 8 weeks

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Why do I eat a lot? Because my parents taught me that great appetite is a sign of health.

Overeating is not a good sign...

The first signs of overeating should not be ignored. As long as they are small, you can easily fix the situation. Over time it will get harder. The need for food will begin to arise automatically, overeating will become habitual. This is how a psychological dependence on food is developed. We must remember that we do not get better in one day. Excess weight creeps up on us imperceptibly and gradually. Already now you need to watch what you eat, where you eat and how you eat.

How to eat?

Eat regularly, little and often. Proper eating behavior consists of 5-6 meals a day so as not to feel hungry and not to snack. At the same time, the amount of food eaten should be no more than will fit in your palm.
Eat slowly, chew your food slowly and thoroughly.
Eat only at the table. When you eat standing up or walking, you eat more.
Eat with pleasure! Food should bring joy to life. Enjoy what you eat! Turn your meal into a small celebration.
Do not worry about food. A good mood, a pleasant atmosphere during meals are very important. Don't educate each other at the table.
Eat light, live, natural foods. Remember about proper, rational nutrition.
When you eat, do nothing else. Don't watch TV, don't read, don't work. But a leisurely conversation over food with a pleasant person will not hurt you. It will help you pause between meals.

10 scientifically proven tricks that will help you lose weight quickly

If overeating has already become a serious problem addiction recovery method.

Often, negative emotions caused by the consciousness of their fullness encourage people to look for different ways to lose weight, including provoking them to go on a strict diet. Which, in most cases, turns out to be a complete failure (after all, if the psychological cause of overeating is not eliminated, sooner or later it will take over you again). All this, in turn, can provoke new negative emotions leading to increased overeating, and the inability to cope with this problem gives rise to new negative emotions . .. As a result, a vicious circle is created.

To get out of this vicious circle, it is important to understand that you need to lose weight only for yourself, slowly and gradually, changing your eating habits and accustoming yourself to a healthy eating style.

Remember that according to the laws of nature, food exists in order to maintain the vitality and tone of the body. But it is not for nothing that there is an expression “They feed as if for slaughter!” ... So overeating kills the body, making it inactive and sick.

Only by eating moderate and healthy foods, we are able to lose accumulated fats and kilograms without harm to health. Then the body can get used to the new weight and fix it.

Watch yourself and analyze everything that happens to you! It is not enough to lose weight to get rid of the habit of overeating! It is important to understand yourself and the causes of excess weight. It is often difficult to do it yourself. And here you will be helped by experienced psychotherapists and psychologists dealing with the problem of overeating and psychological correction of excess weight.

Photo: Getty Images

Polina Soshka

Who Am I?

■ "I very large, about two meters high, and my weight is 350 kg. I have brown wool, small ears and tail. I can walk on hind legs and climb up trees in search of food. And I eat fish berries, I can eat ants, worms and beetle larvae. All winter I I spend in hibernation, and in the spring I come out of lairs thin, hungry and angry. (Bear.)
■ "I I live in the Far North. I eat fish and seals. I love the sea very much. Thick a layer of fat under the skin and a long white wool keeps me from hypothermia. And my paws are like flippers, so I I swim well and I am not afraid to swim far out to sea." (Polar bear.)
■ "U I have a sharp muzzle, erect ears, very finely developed sense of smell. I am very greedy. I eat meat, attacking deer, elk, rodents, but sometimes, when it is not possible find nothing, I live on vegetable food - berries. I like to hunt at night by oneself. Sometimes I chase prey hours, running a single kilometer. But in winter, to feed ourselves, we are going in the flock." (Wolf)
■ "I fat funny animal with sharp front teeth. My house is called hut. I choose a place for my hut a small river or stream with a flowing water. I cut tree branches with my teeth and build a dam out of them to support water at a constant level and always have an underwater connection with the dwelling. There are two "rooms" in the hut: a bedroom and pantry". (Beaver, or beaver.)
■ Scent I have a very sharp one. The biggest My delicacy is field mice. a little the mouse squeaks - and I will hear it for a hundred meters, even in winter, when she hides under the snow. On the day I can eat them up 20 pieces. I hunt at night and love during the day relax. Often they call me red cheat." (Fox.)
■ "I I live with my family in a mink, which I dug with my front paws and covered with soft grass and down. I am very careful. Before approaching the mink, I'll make a few jumps to the side, then a few jumps to another side, and only then do I jump into my house. In winter, to be invisible on snow, I change my coat. (Hare)
■ "U me very beautiful horns, but each I have to take them off during the winter. The body is covered with beautiful small light speckled. Wool provides good protection from frost, and wide hooves do not allow me to fall into the snow. I'm proud good eyesight, and my hearing and smell make it easy to detect danger". (Deer.)
■ "I looks like a clumsy fat mouse with big cheeks. I have round shiny eyes, short legs and pointed small ponytail.
I I build a mink at a depth of 1-2 meters under land, which consists of several "rooms": in one I sleep in winter, and in the other - I keep stock. Sometimes they hold me at home, in a cage. (Hamster.)
■ “I, small and gray, I build myself a mink or in the field, or in the forest, under the roots trees in a secluded area. My mink looks like a bird's nest. Here I am doing stocks of seeds, berries, nuts, dry buds and roots of grasses and trees. In winter I often go out of the mink to replenish reserves. For this I dig special tunnels and I move along them. (Mouse.)
■ “I, kind fussy little animal, I live everywhere. I have a long fluffy tail and beady eyes. Tail nearly as long my body (about 20 cm), serves as my pole and an umbrella, allowing you to maintain balance and jump on the branches. Small on the ears tassels that protect my ears from frost. On hard frosty days I sit in a hollow and eat acorns, dry mushrooms, nuts. Squirrel.
■ "I small animal with velvety fur dark grey. I have strong large front paws shoulder blades. They grow claws, which I dig the earth and throw it back. At I have eyes, but it's only tiny beads covered with wool and skin. I don't need eyes because I I constantly live underground in a pitch-black darkness. But I have a great sense of smell. I smell the earthworm a few meters." (Mole)
■ Body I have unusually heavy, it can weigh like a big truck. Exactly in order to bear such a weight, my legs are thick and look like huge columns. I have tusks that I I'm defending myself. The most remarkable part my body is a trunk. I love to eat grass, fruits and leaves of trees. (Elephant.)
■ "I I live in the thickets of the tropical forest, where sun rays in thin stripes break through the dense crowns trees. Therefore my skin is covered stripes similar to these glare of light. I am a strong animal. I eat boars deer, antelope. To satisfy hunger, I need about nine kilos meat per day. (Tiger)
■ "I strong animal. My roar is like thunder and the mane gives me a menacing look. I live I am in warm countries, in sandy places, so my skin is sandy. I sleep more during the day, and at night I hunt zebras, gazelles and antelopes. Even though I am the king of beasts but easy to train and can perform various numbers in the circus. (Lev.)
■ "My body covered with hard thick skin gray color, which protects well from insect bites and from branches shrubs. On the feet are small hooves. I eat grass and young branches and leaves. But my main feature - the famous horn on the forehead. When I danger threatens, I lower my head and strike with the horn." (Rhino)
■ "Me everyone knows. I am human, but unlike him, I have a tail, with which I hold on to the branches while I pluck fruits with my hands and with my feet I bring them to mouth. My favorite pastime is to squirm faces." (Monkey.)
■ "Ancient the Greeks called me "river horse". First, I spend a lot of time in water, and secondly, I resemble a horse. At I have such big wide nostrils and small ears. I am a very large animal: 4 meters long and 3.5 tons in weight. eating I am river grass. (Behemoth)
■ "My growth can reach a height of six meters. There are ears on the head and funny small horns covered with leather. Neither I don't have fangs or claws. But there is unusually long tongue reaching sometimes 45 cm. With this language, I deftly pluck leaves from thorny plants, not even having pricked. Although my front legs longer than the rear, I run fast, I can overtake the horse. I sleep standing up and drink water legs wide apart, because my long neck does not bend at all. (Giraffe)
■ "U I have thick gray skin, small head with protruding ears, very long and strong rear and small front legs. I am a big animal (about two meters in height), but I jump, like a grasshopper - far and high. Most I have a remarkable bag, which located in the lower abdomen, between the legs. My the image is on the coat of arms of Australia. (Kangaroo.)
■ "I looks like a little horse: I have there are hooves, a mane, a tail. I quickly I run. I have excellent eyesight and good memory. But the color is striped. I have many enemies: tigers, lions, hyenas and others predators. To protect myself from enemies, I and my other relatives unite into groups. I am listed in the Red Book. (Zebra.)
■ "I I feel pretty good where other animals would starve to death and thirst. I carry my food and drink with me in the humps. Before the start of the next travel, I eat and drink a few days. Then only one of my hump can weigh 45 kilos! But by the end of the journey my hump empties and falls to the side.” (Camel.)
■ What hardy animal in antiquity used in the war, harnessing them to chariots? (Horse.)
■ At what animal has a thick body, short legs, small hooves and fangs that stick out? (U pigs. )
■ Identical Do cats have eyes day and night? (At night pupils in cats are too dilated, and during the day they are small.)
■ What pet is a true friend human? Dog.
■ What an animal useful to humans meat, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, butter? (Cow.)
■ What one of the first domesticated animals closest relative of horses, only shorter than they are? (Donkey.)
■ What pet gives healing milk, meat, wool and fluff? (Goat.)
■ From what kind of pet skins are made sheepskin coats, hats and mittens? (From sheepskin.)
■ What the animal is easily recognizable by its long ears and the tassel at the end of the tail? (Donkey.)
■ What animal for the inhabitants of the North and transport, and food, and clothing, and dwelling? (Deer. )
■ What the animal gives us meat, fat and skin, from which makes shoes, gloves and bags? (Pig.)
■ From milk of this animal make delicious salted cheese - cheese. (From sheep milk.)
■ What pets live in cages with a mesh floor? (Rabbits.)
■ What Does a pet give people honey? (Bee.)
■ What Is the animal considered the most beloved in the house? (Cat.)

+ additional tenders

Cat in a bag

Brazil are colorful carnivals where various contests. Here is one of them - "Pig in a poke" popular among children 8-14 years old. Jokes are put in a bag gifts for players: mops, rags, brushes, washcloths, old ropes, torn shoes, broken cups, plates, holes pots, etc. As many gifts as players. Players take turns coming up to the bag and choose a gift. For the present they should wittily thank and tell them how they will use it the main thing is that it was interesting, fun and about this subject.

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