Eating disorders are not just about food. That much has been clear for decades, but researchers are still working to untangle the complex psychological, cultural and physiological roots of afflictions such as binge-eating disorder (BED) and bulimia. Now a growing body of work is finding that disordered eating is connected to attention deficits and poor self-awareness.

In one recent study, psychologists at Geneva University in Switzerland tested the cognitive abilities of three groups—obese individuals with BED, obese individuals without BED and a normal-weight control group. They found that obese participants had difficulties with inhibition and focusing their attention. These cognitive deficits were most severe in the BED group, which points to a “continuum of increasing inhibition and cognitive problems with increasingly disordered eating,” the authors wrote in the journal Appetite last August.

A different study in the August issue of the Western Journal of Nursing Re­search found that low executive func­tion—the cognitive capacity for self-understanding and self-regulation—is correlated with both obesity and symptoms of ADHD. And several other studies have linked distraction with overeating. The study found that focusing on one’s meal was linked to eating less later in the day—although for someone with ADHD, such focus can prove challenging.
Taken together, these results suggest that treatment for binge eating may need to include strengthening mental functions such as attention and self-awareness.

Exploring the influence of ethnic identity on self-understanding could also help prevent eating disorders, suggests a study last September in the Journal of Black Studies. Using surveys, the study found that African-American women with higher levels of ethnic identity were less likely to develop binge eating and bulimia, whereas for Caucasian women, higher levels of ethnic identity posed a greater risk of disordered eating. Study author Mary Shuttlesworth, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the Univer­sity of Maryland, explains that Cauca­sian ideals tend to emphasize thinness and focus strictly on appearance, whereas African-American beauty ideals often include “other aspects of the self aside from physical appear­ance; acceptance of different body shapes and sizes; and allowing beauty to encompass personality, style or attitude.” She suggests that preven­tion programs could focus on building in all people, regardless of race, the elements characteristic of African-American ethnic identity.

This article was originally published with the title The Cognitive Roots of Binge Eating.

5 Comments

1. 1. witzelcheck 05:50 PM 3/14/12

   What foods do people eat when they binge eat? Are they high in sugar, gluten, or Beta Casein A1? There has been work done on the craving and addictive properties of these foods, but has there been any work done to link these foods to actual disorders? For instance, have they cut these kinds of foods out to see if the cravings and binges go away?
   
   I think that would be a neat article.

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2. 2. Miriam Gordon 10:53 PM 3/14/12

   The topics you touch on in this post are incredibly complex and are oversimplified here. This can lead to misinterpretation, which can be harmful to lots of people. Please define your terms more carefully in the future.
   

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3. 3. tommyoctober 03:08 PM 3/21/12

   Whenever you are faced with some seemingly inexplicable issue it helps to revert to our evolutionary animal past. Animals, especially carnivores, always eat until they're sated, not knowing when/if they will eat again. You should understand that we were they longer than we are us, i.e. animals with cognitive skills. And most of us can remember times when we have adopted attivistic behavior---mimicking our animal brethren. This is merely another side to the coin. Finally, if binge eating had no repercusions as far as body weight is concerned the fuss wouldn't be as loud as it is. But those with BED are fearful of gaining so they purge or avoid food altogether. Anorexia is a different issue altogether and has more to do with delaying as long as possible growing up (i.e. getting big)---chosing instead to remain pubescent---no matter what the chronological age....

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4. 4. sunnystrobe 07:16 AM 3/23/12

   It seems that, with regard to binge eating disorders, the researchers themselves are suffering from a lack of attention, failing to check on what kind of food is involved! With all due respect to the famed Swiss psychiatry of the Freudian era: It's time to let bygones be bygones and not just focus on the typical mental symptoms of mal-nutrition such as attention deficits are! Nor let us get sidetracked with racism, trying to blame something as plainly physical as addiction, to patients with an 'ethnic identity' problem; for this would mean putting the (psycho) cart before the (physio) horse!
   "Who knows? Perhaps all our eating disorders, from anorexia to bulimia, may be found to have their physiological origin in the desperate balancing act of a nutrient-deficient body system to find some equilibrium, be it through avoidance, as in anorexia, or through non-stop craving and bingeing, as in bulimia."
   ( see Youthevity.com : Colour Eating)

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5. 5. dailyRx 11:42 AM 11/26/12

   One of the best ways to deal with this reality is by teaching children to control their eating. Learn about a scientific study on this topic here:
   http://www.dailyrx.com/obese-children-respond-healthy-behavioral-treatments-better-teens

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