Dalle Grave, R., Sartirana, M., & Calugi, S. (2020).
Disturbo da binge-eating – Un update. IJEDO, 2, 29-40. doi:10.32044/ijedo.2020.06
Abstract
Binge-eating disorder (BED) is characterized by the presence of recurrent binge-eating episodes not followed by the recurrent use of compensatory behaviors, occurring at least once a week for three months, and associated with marked distress. According to the most recent data, BED has a lifetime prevalence of 0.85% (men 0.42% and women 1.25%). The disorder, although it is also present in normal-weight individuals, is more frequent in those with obesity. BED often coexists with specific mental disorders (e.g., depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, or impulse control disorders) and with general medical conditions (e.g., cardiometabolic diseases). Psychological treatments, such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), produce remission of binge-eating episodes in about 50-55% of patients, but have a limited effect on weight loss when BED is associated with obesity. Pharmacological treatments for anxiety and depression have limited effects on the symptoms of BED, while some drugs that have shown promising results, such as lisdexamfetamine and dasotraline, are often burdened with important side effects and are not available in Italy. The need to develop a treatment able to determine both a modest, but clinically significant, weight loss and a simultaneous remission of binge-eating episodes and associated psychopathology, has led to design a new treatment, under evaluation, called “CBT-BO”, which integrates strategies and procedures of the CBT-E for eating disorders and CBT for obesity.