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Dr. Ross explains the difference between binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating.
Dr. Ross:
There is a difference between binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating. People who have binge eating disorder can be obese, just as those who have compulsive overeating; however, binge eating disorder is considered part of the spectrum of eating disorders. It does not have its own category as of yet, but it does have a list of proposed criteria, and the main difference is that people with binge eating disorder tend to eat large quantities of food in one sitting in a short period of time, for example, less than two hours. They also tend to have an enormous amount of disgust and shame and embarrassment about overeating; they tend to eat in private because of this embarrassment and to eat when they are even uncomfortably full, they will still continue to overeat.
People with obesity may overeat at every meal, but they may not have this characteristic of eating a large quantity food in one setting.
About Dr. Ross, M.D., M.P.H.:
Dr. Carolyn Ross, M.D., M.P.H., completed her undergraduate degree in Modern Foreign Languages at Purdue University and worked as a full-time mother of her two older sons before returning to school to complete her pre-med requirements. She then went to the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Ross’s practice experience after medical school helped fuel her interest in understanding what makes people heal as she saw that most of her patients’ medical problems were related to lifestyle habits and the stresses of modern living. In searching for a better way to address these issues, Dr. Ross began to explore complementary and alternative therapies and the use of herbs and supplements for her patients. She then completed a residency in Preventive Medicine at Loma Linda University and then set up practice in San Diego, California where she eventually opened three women’s centers where she practiced primary care and office gynecology.