When I tell people that I’m an eating disorder dietitian, they often ask questions about each eating disorder and how it manifests in people. When it comes to binge eating disorder (BED), they might ask, “So, they’re addicted to food?” or “Why can’t they just stop eating?” Questions like these remind me of how little most people understand eating disorders.

While all diagnoses carry stereotypes and myths, BED—which is the most common eating disorder in the U.S.—seems to be especially misunderstood. For example, it’s often assumed that people with BED must be lazy, lack willpower, and live in a larger body, and that they should follow a strict meal plan to get better. Such misconceptions are rooted in diet culture and can do real damage, increasing the shame and stigma surrounding BED and making it harder for those struggling to get the care they need to recover. Today, let’s dive more deeply into the biggest misconceptions about binge eating and explore the truth behind them.

The biggest misconceptions about binge eating

I talked to three other eating disorder dietitians to identify some of the most pervasive myths about binge eating disorder. Here are the six biggest misconceptions, along with the truth.

Misconception: BED only affects people in larger bodies

This is perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about BED. It’s also one of the most harmful, as it’s based on the fat-phobic stereotype that people in larger bodies must be eating large quantities of food (and that eating large quantities of food always equates to a larger body).

“It assumes that a person with an eating disorder who lives in a larger body has BED, when many may meet criteria for other eating disorders,” explains non-diet dietitian Kelly Abramson, MS, RD, MSCP. For example, you may be living in a larger body and be suffering from atypical anorexia. “Atypical Anorexia and BED are distinct diagnoses that meet different criteria, but gaps in screening exist because of weight stigma,” Abramsam explains.

Also, the belief that only larger-bodied folks have BED can prevent people of “normal” or lower weights from being screened for BED, even if they’re exhibiting other symptoms. "It’s underdiagnosed and undertreated, and we know that many individuals are slipping under the radar,” Abramsam adds.

Truth: BED can exist in people of all body sizes

Research from 2025 shows that BED symptoms can manifest in people (specifically preteens and teens in this study) across the weight spectrum, including those in a “normal” weight range. In fact, research shows that about 30% of people with binge eating disorder have a normal BMI.

Plus, the unscientific assumption that body size is directly related to food consumption is rooted in weight bias, or internalized negative attitudes and beliefs towards others because of their weight. “Your gravitational pull to the Earth (i.e. your weight) or the way your muscle and fat are distributed in your body doesn’t tell us anything about your eating behaviors or health status,” explains weight-neutral dietitian Jessica Villalvir, MS, RDN. In fact, your weight, shape, energy needs, and metabolism are determined by many factors, including “genetics, health conditions, medications, access to care, and resources, to name a few,” explains eating disorder dietitian Ana Pruteanu,

Misconception: People with BED lack willpower

Diet culture incorrectly leads us to believe that people who eat large amounts of food (which is a key behavior in BED) must be lazy, lack discipline, and simply need to develop more willpower. This is based on the assumption that BED is a matter of choice.

“This harmful belief assumes that the person binge eating can easily choose to stop, and it implies that if they don’t stop, they are to blame for any health or emotional consequences,” Pruteanu explains. The guilt and shame resulting from such a belief can prevent people suffering from BED from getting the support they need to recover.

Truth: Like all eating disorder behaviors, binge eating is driven by many factors

In general, eating disorders are multi-faceted mental illnesses, usually driven by genetic, environmental, and physiological factors. No one ever consciously chooses to have an eating disorder, including BED.

In my practice, when my clients with BED get curious about their binge behaviors, they usually realize that they’re often driven by food deprivation (since the body is starved after being in a prolonged calorie deficit), emotional discomfort, and a dysregulated nervous system. “Binge eating is a form of coping, not a moral failing,” Pruteanu says. “Folks need more support, not judgment about how they are coping.”

There are many other factors that contribute to and perpetuate binge eating, including:

• Emotional regulation: Disordered behaviors often develop as a way to seek emotional safety when life feels too difficult, and then snowball into a full-blown disorder.
• Differences in brain function: Research from 2023 shows that binge episodes in women may be linked to altered habit learning neural circuits, which might cause binging to become automatic and hard to control. Other research from 2023 shows that BED in adults is associated with neurocognitive dysfunctions in many stages of decision-making, which may contribute to the development and persistence of BED, and help explain the loss of control experienced during binge episodes.
• Weight stigma: Research from 2025 also found that weight stigma—or discrimination against people based on their weight or body shape— from healthcare providers, which is unfortunately common, can lead to intensified binge eating behaviors.
• Food insecurity: Finally, 2024 research of preteens shows that food insecurity is associated with binge eating, revealing that food insecure preteens are at risk of having binge eating disorder later in life.

Misconception: Following a strict diet plan will cure BED

Again, diet culture leads us to believe that if you stick to a rigid food plan, you’ll be in control and “back on track” after experiencing binges. However, research from 2025 of mostly white college-age women shows that following restrictive diets can in fact worsen binge eating over time (the study specifically followed people on a low-carbohydrate diet).

Like other eating disorder behaviors, binges are often caused by some sort of restriction. That means that following rigid rules and a diet plan that leaves you in a calorie or nutrient deficit (or mentally and emotionally unsatisfied) is not the answer, and is likely exacerbating things.

Truth: Developing a balanced and enjoyable eating pattern can help with BED recovery

While rigidity isn’t the answer, a flexible and predictable eating pattern can help your body feel safe and break the binge-restrict-cycle. “You might find yourself binge eating at night, then waking up feeling sick or guilty, and trying to ‘reset’ by not eating or eating too little the next day, only to find yourself starving at night and repeating the cycle,” Pruteanu explains. “In this case, undereating earlier in the day sets off the binge eating at night. Having more predictable, structured eating avoids this pattern.”

Developing a meal structure with a non-diet eating disorder dietitian can help you find a way of eating that supports your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Your dietitian can also help you brainstorm meal and snack ideas if that feels helpful. “Some may find initially that choosing what to eat on the fly is too stressful or leaves them vulnerable to binge eating, in which case pre-planning their meals and snacks can be beneficial,” Pruteanu says. “As binge eating urges decrease, you can introduce more flexibility and spontaneity into your food choices.”

Misconception: Overeating is the same as a binge episode

Over the years, some of my clients have come to nutrition counseling sessions saying they binged last night or over the weekend—but when we look at the eating experience, it’s clear that it wasn’t a binge at all. “A common misconception is that undereating during the day and then eating more at night is always a binge episode,” Villalvir explains. “Frequently, that nighttime snacking consists of a relatively small amount of food, like a handful of pretzels, some cheese and a few cookies,” she says. This is a hearty snack, not a binge.

Truth: Binge eating is a disordered behavior, and overeating can be a part of normal eating

A binge is defined as eating an objectively large quantity of food in a discrete period of time (e.g., within a two-hour window) while feeling a lack of control. For someone to meet the diagnostic criteria for BED, they need to engage in binge eating at least once per week for a minimum of three months. “Feelings of blacking out and being physically ill are often described after a binge,” Villalvir adds.

However, overeating, or as I call it, “eating past fullness,” is not an eating disorder or the same as binging. In fact, it’s a part of eating normally and intuitively—sometimes you get overly hungry or enjoy a meal so much that you choose to eat more than usual or what’s comfortable, and that’s okay.

Misconception: When you stop binge eating, you’ll lose weight

It’s a common belief that if binging stops, caloric intake will decrease and weight loss follows. The belief is based on the oversimplified (although still widely believed) energy balance theory, which says that body weight is determined by the relationship between calories in and calories out, so if calories drop, weight will too. “We know from those in larger bodies with a diagnosis of atypical anorexia that reduced caloric intake does not necessarily correlate with weight loss,” Abramsam explains.

Truth: Weight may or may not change when you stop binging

As mentioned earlier, body weight is determined by a myriad of factors, like genetics and health conditions, and eating less food doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss. Again, the energy balance is theory is a simplistic way of viewing body weight regulation, because it ignores all the biological, environmental, and genetic factors (that are largely unchangeable) that influence weight.

Moreover, it’s not automatically true that overall caloric intake will drop if binge eating ceases, since many people experience binging at night after long periods of restriction during the day. Ideally, their recovery includes eating adequate meals and snacks throughout the day instead, which could mean their caloric intake doesn’t change much. “While binge episodes often result in significant caloric intake, we can’t assume that will mean a significant calorie difference over several days or a week,” Abramsam adds.

Misconception: People who binge eat are addicted to food

It’s often assumed that if someone is craving foods, feeling a lack of control around those foods, and binging on them, they must be addicted to food. However, such a belief can be dangerous, because it places all the power on the food itself and distracts from the fact that disordered behaviors like restriction and binging are usually a result of maladaptive coping mechanisms, which need to be healed for recovery to happen.

Truth: Binge episodes are often not about the food itself

There’s a saying in the eating disorder recovery world, “It’s never really about the food,” although it certainly looks like it is. As I mentioned, binge episodes are often driven by a combination of factors, like restriction earlier in the day, difficult emotions and thoughts, and other genetic and physiological factors.

If you believe that your binging is a result of food addiction, you run the risk of being afraid of certain foods forever and avoiding them at all costs. However, full recovery requires being at peace with all foods, especially your fear or trigger foods. Plus, research behind the theory of food addiction lacks strong scientific support. In fact, a 2022 systematic review of studies (including people of all ages with and without eating disorders) found that food addiction is not currently recognized as a valid diagnosis and that there is insufficient clinical evidence to draw firm conclusions about its existence.

Conclusion: BED recovery requires compassionate, knowledgeable care

“These common misconceptions about BED continue to perpetrate the same harmful cycle, and delay people from seeking help, if it all,” Villalvir says, “and there’s a level of loneliness to not being understood and accepted by the masses.”

Like all eating disorders, BED is a mental illness caused by multiple factors that can occur in any body size. It is best treated with a flexible and personalized eating plan (not a restrictive diet) developed by a weight-inclusive dietitian, and under the guidance of a multidisciplinary treatment team, including a weight-inclusive doctor, therapist, and (sometimes) a psychiatrist. If you’re struggling with BED, know that you deserve compassionate care, deep healing, and long-term recovery.