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Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Night eating syndrome
Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2014 began today and strives to reduce stigma, improve access to care, and to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues.
Most clinicians and treatment professionals have heard of and worked with individuals who are suffering from anorexia, bulimia, and/or binge eating disorder, but there are other eating disorders to be aware of as well.
Fox News published an article today about night eating syndrome, which was added as a distinct diagnosis in the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5.
The article describes a recent study in which university students were analyzed for mental health issues and eating disorders. Of the 1,600 students studied, four percent had met the criteria for night eating syndrome, according to the article.
The study's senior author recognized that many students may eat late at night because of hectic schedules, but said that other characteristics signal night eating syndrome: "...feeling that you can't eat in the morning, and feeling like you have to eat in order to go back to sleep"
It was discovered that night eating syndrome was more common in individuals who had a history of anorexia and also for those currently taking ADHD medications.
The article also stated:
A history of depression and self-injuring was more common among those with night eating disorder.
