Which of the following statements is true of binge-eating disorder?

• A. Binge-eating disorder is characterized by a persistent restriction of food intake leading to significantly low body weight.
• B. Individuals with binge-eating disorder experience recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food without regular use of compensatory behaviors such as purging.
• C. People with binge-eating disorder typically engage in excessive exercise to compensate for overeating.
• D. Binge-eating disorder only occurs in individuals who are underweight.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definition of binge-eating disorder (BED). BED is characterized by recurrent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food in a discrete period of time, accompanied by a feeling of loss of control over eating during the episode.
2. Step 2: Recognize that unlike other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, individuals with BED do not regularly engage in compensatory behaviors like purging, excessive exercise, or fasting to counteract the binge episodes.
3. Step 3: Note that BED is not associated with persistent restriction of food intake or significantly low body weight; in fact, many individuals with BED are overweight or obese.
4. Step 4: Evaluate the given statements by comparing them to the clinical features of BED: the true statement should reflect recurrent binge episodes without compensatory behaviors and not be limited to underweight individuals.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the correct statement is the one describing recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food without regular use of compensatory behaviors such as purging.