Binge eating is the number one eating problem in the United States, far more prevalent than other eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, according to a first-ever national survey by researchers at Harvard University.

Binge eating is a condition in which people frequently undergo uncontrolled eating binges with purging to a degree that they feel uncomfortable.

People who do binge eating often eat more quickly than usual during binge episodes, or eat until they are uncomfortably full, or eat when they are not hungry, or eat alone because of embarrassment. They can feel disgusted, depressed or guilty after overeating.

The results shows that binge eating affects 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men during their lifetime.   In comparison, anorexia nervosa affects 0.9 percent of women and 0.3 percent of men and bulimia nervosa affects 1.5 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men.

Earlier studies focused on the prevalence of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa in the population, but no studies were conducted on binge eating, said Dr. James I. Hudson, lead investigator, director of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

"These are really the first hard numbers for the prevalence of this disorder," Healthday.com quoted Dr. Hudson as saying during a teleconference to announce the findings on Wednesday.

According to the researchers, binge eating means that people eat uncontrolled amounts of food at least twice a week for a three-month period.

Binge eating, a chronic condition, was believed associated with severe obesity and all the complication of obesity, Hudson was cited as saying.

The survey data on eating problems came from 3,000 who were among almost 9,300 people from across the United States who participated in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.   The results were published in the February issue of Biological Psychiatry.

The researchers found that binge eating problem lasted an average of 8.1 years compared to 8.3 years for bulimia and 1.7 years for anorexia.

Dr. Hudson said binge eating is a true eating disorder that can be treated or prevented, but he said half the people with a history of eating problems did not see treatment for their condition.

So far, it has been unknown what cause binge eating disorder. Depression may be one of the risk factors for binge eating.   Previous studies showed 50 percent of people with binge eating disorder are depressed or have been depressed in the past.

Binge eating can also associate with dieting. People who skip meals may turn their dieting into binge eating.   Also A person’s capability of coping emotion may also be a factor for the binge eating.  People with binge eating may not handle their emotion well. Many people who are binge eaters say that being angry, sad, bored, worried or stressed can cause them to binge eat.

Genetics may also play a role in binge eating.  Some people with binge eating disorder may be genetically vulnerable to this dieting habit.   When genes are the risk factors, binge eating occurs often in several members of the same family.

The side-effects of binge eating is weight gain which is linked with obesity and a series of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

People with binge eating disorder can get help from a health care provider, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker.