[Eating at night--eating during sleep]

This 45-years old female, who was referred to us for controlled weight-reduction reports an unusual eating behaviour: No food intake during daytime, uncontrolled eating in the evening and repetitive eating during the night. Eating in the night is a heterogeneous symptom regarding pathogenesis and phenotypic expression. Possible entities are the so called "night-eating syndrome" or "sleep-related eating disorders" with attenuated awareness. Referring to a case report the differential diagnosis of nightly eating disorders will be given and the symptoms and signs of selected pathologies will be discussed shortly.