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Binge Eating, Disinhibition and Obesity

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Evolutionary Thinking in Medicine

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Abstract

Obese individuals, especially those who are morbidly obese, are more likely to binge-eat and to express disinhibition, a trait which characterizes very opportunistic eating behaviour and signifies a constant readiness to eat. We argue in this chapter that binge eating and disinhibition are evolved mechanisms for dealing with one of the most fundamental of insecurities, that of food, especially in seasonal and unpredictable environments. It is only in recent decades in industrialized nations, with improved food security and the emergence of obesity at the population level, that such mechanisms have become detrimental in terms of health outcomes and have been medically pathologized. Binge eating and disinhibition are no longer responses to uncertainty in food availability as they would have been across evolutionary history, or in parts of the world where there continues to be food insecurity. Rather, there may be other types of uncertainty and insecurity that lead to disinhibited eating and binge eating as evolutionarily based responses to stress which can lead to obesity, and there is scope for clinical practice to give greater emphasis to such responses as higher-level factors that structure health and illness. These would include stress-inducing factors at work and in everyday life.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Prof. Stanley Ulijaszek Ph.D.

  2. Division of Psychology, Richmond Building, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK

    Eleanor Bryant Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Prof. Stanley Ulijaszek Ph.D.
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  2. Eleanor Bryant Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stanley Ulijaszek Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford, United Kingdom

    Alexandra Alvergne

  2. Oxford, United Kingdom

    Crispin Jenkinson

  3. Paris, France

    Charlotte Faurie

Glossary

Binge eating

When a larger than normal amount of food is consumed in one sitting

Disinhibition

An eating behaviour trait measuring a readiness for eating or opportunistic eating: a “see food and eat it” response. This trait is assessed through the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire [16]

Dopamine reward system

Systems in the brain (mesolimbic pathway and mesocortical pathway in the ventral tegmental area); when these areas are stimulated, reward is perceived

Glucocorticoid

A corticoid substance which increases gluconeogenesis, increasing blood glucose levels. The main glucocorticoid is cortisol, which is responsible for regulating metabolism of protein, lipids and carbohydrates

Hedonic hunger

When an individual experiences frequent thoughts, feelings and urges towards food, while they have no physiological need for food

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis

Feedback interactions among the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and the adrenal glands that control reactions to stress and, among other things, regulate digestion, mood, emotions and energy balance

Nutrition transition

Shifts in dietary consumption towards higher-energy-density foods, reduced physical activity and energy expenditure that have coincided with economic, demographic and epidemiological changes across the world

Psychological ambivalence

Describes a situation where an individual holds both positive and negative attitudes towards a food (e.g. I love the taste of this food, but I hate it as it makes me fat)

Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire

A psychometric tool to assess the eating behaviour traits of disinhibition (tendency to overeat and eating opportunistically), restraint (restricting intake to control body weight) and hunger (the extent to which feeling of hunger elicit eating episodes)

Thrifty Phenotype

The thrifty phenotype hypothesis suggests that early-life metabolic adaptations help in the survival of the organism by selecting an appropriate trajectory of growth in response to environmental cues (See also Chap. 6)

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Ulijaszek, S., Bryant, E. (2016). Binge Eating, Disinhibition and Obesity. In: Alvergne, A., Jenkinson, C., Faurie, C. (eds) Evolutionary Thinking in Medicine. Advances in the Evolutionary Analysis of Human Behaviour. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29716-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29716-3_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29716-3

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