Diana is a 40-year-old woman who eats an amount of food, which is more than the normal amount of food a typical person would eat during a similar period of time and context, at least once a week and has been doing this for almost 4 years. During these times, she cannot control how much she eats, eats much more rapidly than she normally does, and continues to eat until she is feeling uncomfortably full. This type of eating even occurs when she is not feeling physically hungry, but interestingly does not cause her much, if any, distress. Diana’s symptoms are not explained by any mental illness, except Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating Disorder, or Anorexia Nervosa – Binge Eating/Purging Type, if criteria are met. Based on this information, Diana would most likely meet DSM criteria for .

binge-eating disorder

Explanation:

Diana meets the DSM criteria for binge-eating disorder, because she has recurrent binge-eating episodes, in which she eats a large amount of food in a short time and with a sense of lack of control over her actions.

As the second criterion establishes, in Diana´s case, the episodes are associated with 3 characteristics: eating much more rapidly than normal, eating until feeling uncomfortably full, and eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.

The third criterion is the presence of distress regarding binge eating, which Diana doesn´t seem to have much of. However, there is a hint of possible distress in the description.

Criterion 4 refers to the frequency of binge eating episodes. Diana´s case is a mild one, given that she has between 1 to 3 episodes per week. However, it´s dangerous because she has been doing it for four years, while the average is up to 6 months.

Criterion 5 refers to the episodes not being associated with the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behavior and does not occur exclusively during anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, which is Diana's case.