Understanding Bingeing and Purging

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of BingeingTypes of PurgingAre They Eating Disorders?Help Available

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types of Bingeing

Types of Purging

Are They Eating Disorders?

Help Available

WarningFor people with a history of an eating disorder, reading about bingeing and purging may be a trigger for them.

Warning

For people with a history of an eating disorder, reading about bingeing and purging may be a trigger for them.

People can binge on any type of food, although typically high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods are used, both because of their “forbidden” nature, particularly to those who are concerned about their body weight, and because of the concern they cause when eaten.

Common binge foods include:

There are several different types of purging that people use to attempt to remove the excessive food they have eaten.

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Excessive Exercise

A less well-recognized form of purging isexcessive exercise. Exercise is typically considered to be a healthy behavior, particularly among people who are overweight or obese, so exercise is rarely discouraged until harm results from it. Exercising enough to burn off the calories of a binge can take hours per day, resulting in time being taken away from other activities.

People who are not taking in enough nutrients through a balanced diet to support the demands on the body of excessive exercise may become malnourished. Empty calories taken in through binges may not be adequate to build and repair muscle and bone. And without carefully managing your fluid and mineral intake through the exercise process, you can risk dehydration orhyponatremia.

Bingeing and purging are not, in themselves,eating disorders, although individually and in combination, they can besymptoms of an eating disordersuch as binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa.

Both bingeing and purging arecompulsivebehaviors, meaning that people can get into a pattern of repeatedly carrying out these behaviors, even against their better judgment. Often, the trigger for bingeing and purging is stress orlow self-esteem, rather than an objective assessment of the need for weight control.

Bingeing and purging are well recognized within the mental health system. Talk to your family doctor about your concerns regarding bingeing and purging and get an appropriate referral. Typically, people who binge and purge are referred to a to a mental health professional or to a specialized eating disorders clinic.

If you or a loved one are coping with bingeing and purging, contact theNational Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helplinefor support at 1-800-931-2237.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are coping with bingeing and purging, contact theNational Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helplinefor support at 1-800-931-2237.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Forney KJ, Buchman-Schmitt JM, Keel PK, Frank GK.The medical complications associated with purging.Int J Eat Disord. 2016;49(3):249–259. doi:10.1002/eat.22504Lydecker JA, Shea M, Grilo CM.Driven exercise in the absence of binge eating: Implications for purging disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2018;51(2):139–145. doi:10.1002/eat.22811Goldschmidt AB, Accurso EC, Schreiber-Gregory DN, et al.Behavioral, emotional, and situational context of purging episodes in anorexia nervosa.Int J Eat Disord. 2015;48(3):341–344. doi:10.1002/eat.22381Additional ReadingFairburn, C. Overcoming Binge Eating. New York: Guilford. 1995.Kessler, D.The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York: Rodale. 2009.

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Forney KJ, Buchman-Schmitt JM, Keel PK, Frank GK.The medical complications associated with purging.Int J Eat Disord. 2016;49(3):249–259. doi:10.1002/eat.22504Lydecker JA, Shea M, Grilo CM.Driven exercise in the absence of binge eating: Implications for purging disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2018;51(2):139–145. doi:10.1002/eat.22811Goldschmidt AB, Accurso EC, Schreiber-Gregory DN, et al.Behavioral, emotional, and situational context of purging episodes in anorexia nervosa.Int J Eat Disord. 2015;48(3):341–344. doi:10.1002/eat.22381Additional ReadingFairburn, C. Overcoming Binge Eating. New York: Guilford. 1995.Kessler, D.The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York: Rodale. 2009.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Forney KJ, Buchman-Schmitt JM, Keel PK, Frank GK.The medical complications associated with purging.Int J Eat Disord. 2016;49(3):249–259. doi:10.1002/eat.22504Lydecker JA, Shea M, Grilo CM.Driven exercise in the absence of binge eating: Implications for purging disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2018;51(2):139–145. doi:10.1002/eat.22811Goldschmidt AB, Accurso EC, Schreiber-Gregory DN, et al.Behavioral, emotional, and situational context of purging episodes in anorexia nervosa.Int J Eat Disord. 2015;48(3):341–344. doi:10.1002/eat.22381

Forney KJ, Buchman-Schmitt JM, Keel PK, Frank GK.The medical complications associated with purging.Int J Eat Disord. 2016;49(3):249–259. doi:10.1002/eat.22504

Lydecker JA, Shea M, Grilo CM.Driven exercise in the absence of binge eating: Implications for purging disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2018;51(2):139–145. doi:10.1002/eat.22811

Goldschmidt AB, Accurso EC, Schreiber-Gregory DN, et al.Behavioral, emotional, and situational context of purging episodes in anorexia nervosa.Int J Eat Disord. 2015;48(3):341–344. doi:10.1002/eat.22381

Fairburn, C. Overcoming Binge Eating. New York: Guilford. 1995.Kessler, D.The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York: Rodale. 2009.

Fairburn, C. Overcoming Binge Eating. New York: Guilford. 1995.

Kessler, D.The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. New York: Rodale. 2009.

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