by Susan Albers, Psy.D.

Clients with eating problems often develop a number of mindless eating routines. Eating in the car on the way to work, snacking at their computer, or munching during their favorite TV show each night are a few common examples. Help your clients identify the mindless eating behaviors that have simply become habitual. These behaviors are often much easier to tackle than emotional eating behaviors.

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by guest blogger Carolyn Coker Ross, MD, MPH, author of The Binge Eating & Compulsive Overeating Workbook

Today, the American Psychiatric Association announced there is enough evidence to support adding Binge Eating Disorder (BED) to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Why is this so important? The National Institutes of Mental Health estimates that 3.5% of women and 2% of men have BED. Binge eating disorder is more prevalent than anorexia or bulimia. Sixty percent of those with BED are female and forty percent are male, which is the largest category of eating disorders that affects men. Unlike bulimia, those with BED do not have compensatory mechanisms to offset their binging. They do not purge through self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, diuretics or through compulsive exercise. BED sufferers share the common co-occurrence of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and substance use disorders with bulimia sufferers. Those with BED are usually overweight or obese but not always.