Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026
04:48
Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
Published on: May 8, 2018
Compulsive eating behaviors in Parkinson's disease
Ingrid de Chazeron1, Franck Durif2, Isabelle Chereau-Boudet3
1Service de Psychiatrie B, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, EA7280, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, Rue Montalembert BP 69, 63003, Clermont-Ferrand, France. idechazeron@chu-clermontferrand.fr.
Eating and Weight Disorders : EWD
|February 5, 2019
Summary
Parkinson's disease patients often experience eating disorders, with many showing food addiction (FA) symptoms and out-of-control eating, alongside anxiety. Further research is needed to understand these complex feeding behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Eating disorders are frequently observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, often presenting as impulse control disorders.
- The specific phenomenology of eating disorders in PD remains under-investigated.
- This preliminary study aimed to describe symptoms and comorbidities in PD patients with eating changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the phenomenology of eating disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
- To identify specific symptoms, including food addiction (FA) and binge eating disorder (BED), and their comorbidities in PD.
- To explore the relationship between eating behaviors, impulsivity, and psychological distress in PD.
Main Methods:
- A 6-month observational study involving 51 PD patients with significant post-diagnosis eating habit changes.
- Assessment of height, weight, impulsivity, psychological distress, eating disorder symptoms, food addiction, food habits, and craving.
- Descriptive study (Level V evidence).
Main Results:
- While few patients met full criteria for binge eating disorder (BED) (3.9%), a significant portion (21.6%) experienced out-of-control eating episodes.
- Food addiction (FA) criteria were met by 39.2% of patients without meeting full BED criteria.
- Food cravings were reported by approximately half of the patients, including all FA patients. FA patients also exhibited impulsivity and anxiety.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms a distinct food addiction (FA) profile in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
- Eating disorders in PD are complex, sharing cross-cutting criteria like out-of-control eating, FA, and BED.
- Anxiety is associated with PD-related FA, independent of dopaminergic medication, highlighting complex neurobiological underpinnings. Further prevalence studies are recommended.
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