Food Addiction and Binge Eating Disorder

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the distinction between Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Food Addiction (FA). There is confusion and debate regarding the two: some argue they are distinct and others argue they are too similar for FA to deserve its own diagnosis. It is important to examine differences and similarities because obesity is a growing public health problem, and determining the root cause of obesity may help with efforts to reverse the problem. In addition, developing effective treatment and prevention programs will be easier once specific risk factors and characteristics of FA and BED are established. This literature review includes empirical studies and other literature reviews looking at the overlap, unique personality correlates, and general psychopathology associated with both BED and FA. A consistent finding among studies that looked at impulsivity and FA was that negative urgency and lack of perseverance accurately predicted FA, relative to BED. Other consistent correlates of FA were negative affect, emotion dysregulation, and (negative) self-esteem. Treatment options for FA currently include a combination of addiction-based treatment and psychotherapy that is commonly used for BED (i.e. CBT, DBT). Based on my research review, it seems reasonable to conclude that FA does in fact differ from BED and that efforts to identify unique treatment targets for FA are needed.