Проблеми сучасної психології (Jan 2018)
On Psychological Peculiarities of Atypical Binge-Eating
Abstract
The article defines the notion of atypical binge eating as a non-systematic consumption of food by a person, in the volumes which exceed his needs in the nutrients, and which consequently leads to obesity, though this condition is not associated with weird nutritional habits or the «peculiar» respectful attitude to the food consuming itself. The author has analyzed numerous Ukrainian and foreign literature sources to conclude that the issue of atypical binge eating hasn’t been studied sufficiently, particularly by Ukrainian researchers. The article dwells on the absence of strict definition of the «binge eating» notion, the atypical binge eating being even more unclear to define, as it may be diagnosed according to the person’s subjective data on her frequency of binge episodes and the consumed food amount. The author emphasizes double standards of defining binges according to the DSM criteria. The article de-scribes the «binge eating» notion as it was developed from the «night eating» in 1955 until the «binge eating» was included in the DSM-5 in 2013 as a medical term. Due to the performed literature data analysis, the main factors of the atypical binge eating have been defined as follows: the pre-shaped nutritional culture and habits in the society, physical disease, chosen stress management behavioral strategy, food addiction as a method of stress management or self-realization. The following atypical binge eating factor groups have been established: the social-cultural (mindsets, society customs and family habits) and individual ones, which include certain medical-physiological, comorbid psychiatric and psychological causes. The article analyses main approaches to defining the atypical binge eating as an addiction subtype: the psychoanalytical, behavioristic and the gestalt approach. The author concludes on the possible directions of correction within the established factors groups: socialcultural direction, supported by the State: healthy eating promotion, informing population on the nutritional regimen and diet importance, food labeling; and the individual one, which includes personal management of each binging person, with pharmacological, surgical or psychotherapy counselling therapy.
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