FOOD & BODY IMAGE ADDICTION TREATMENT

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting approximately 3-5% of the population. It involves recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food in a short period with a sense of loss of control, accompanied by distress, guilt, and shame. BED uniquely does not involve compensatory behaviours like purging, which often leads to significant weight gain and associated health conditions.

Bulimia nervosa is characterised by cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, fasting, or excessive exercise. Individuals with bulimia are typically of normal weight or overweight, making the disorder less visible than anorexia. The binge-purge cycle is driven by a combination of dopamine reward from eating and temporary relief from anxiety through purging.

Orthorexia nervosa is characterised by an obsessive focus on eating foods perceived as healthy or ‘pure,’ leading to increasingly restrictive dietary rules, social isolation, and malnutrition. Unlike anorexia, the motivation is quality rather than quantity of food — but the result is similar: rigid eating patterns, anxiety around food choices, and significant nutritional deficiencies. Orthorexia is not yet formally recognised in the DSM-5 but is gaining clinical attention.

Vigorexia, also known as muscle dysmorphia or ‘bigorexia,’ involves a pathological preoccupation with muscularity. Sufferers perceive themselves as insufficiently muscular despite often being highly developed. This drives compulsive weightlifting, strict dieting, and often anabolic steroid use. The disorder disproportionately affects men and is associated with significant health risks including kidney damage, cardiac issues, and severe anxiety.

Food addiction involves a compulsive pattern of eating highly palatable foods — particularly those high in sugar, fat, and salt — that triggers addictive-like neurological responses. Brain imaging studies show that these foods activate the same dopamine reward circuits as drugs of abuse. Food addiction is characterised by loss of control over consumption, continued use despite negative consequences, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms when the food is unavailable.