The Neurobiological Basis of Binge Eating Episodes: Searching for New Therapeutic Approaches

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder and an important public health problem worldwide that affects approximately 3% of U.S. adults in their lifetime [1]. In Europe BED is reported by <1–4%, and subthreshold eating disorders by 2–3% of women [2] with increasing percentages in the lockdown period during COVID-19 pandemic [3, 4]. BED is characterized by recurrent (≥1 per week for 3 months) and brief (usually ≤2 hours) binge eating episodes during which the subjects sense a lack of control (inability to stop eating once started) and consume larger amounts of food than most people would eat under similar circumstances, but they do not engage in regular inappropriate compensatory behaviors as in bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa [5]. Moreover, the following conditions may occur in the binge-individuals: eating until feeling uncomfortably full, eating large amounts of food without being hungry, eating alone because of the shame for the abnormal amount of food ingested and feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or guilty after the episodes [5].