Biological correlates of binge eating

Eating disorders are associated with numerous biological perturbations; however, sorting out cause from effect is difficult. Neuroendocrine and metabolic abnormalities are seen in both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, but they have not been described in binge eating disorder, in which neither starvation nor compensatory behaviors are present. Although these findings may reflect biologic differences among subgroups of binge eaters, an alternative explanation is that many of the biological correlates of binge eating are the result of metabolic derangement secondary to starvation and/or purging. The identification of binge eating disorder provides an opportunity to study the causes and concomitants of binge eating in the absence of compensatory behaviors.