Obesity is a health condition, but it does not fall under the category of eating disorder. However, certain eating disorders may lead to a person developing obesity.

Doctors consider obesity not an eating disorder but rather a disease. Eating disorders are mental health conditions that cause people to make unhealthy changes in their dietary habits to cope with difficult feelings or situations in everyday life.

This article will review the link between obesity and eating disorders, their symptoms, what can trigger these conditions, and the treatment options available.

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Obesity is a health condition and not an eating disorder. People can have obesity without having an eating disorder and vice versa. However, certain eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome, can increase the risk of developing obesity over time.

Learn more about eating disorders.

What is obesity?

Obesity is a health condition in which a person accumulates excess fat and weight. Doctors consider a person to have obesity if they have a BMI over 30. Researchers estimate that between 2% and 8% of children and between 7% and 16% of people ages 18 years or older have obesity worldwide.

Obesity is a serious condition that significantly increases the risk of health complications, such as:

Learn more about obesity.

What is an eating disorder?

Eating disorders are mental health conditions. Eating disorders are serious and can lead to severe health complications and, over time, may be fatal. These may develop when someone experiences an emotion or situation that they have difficulty dealing with, affecting their dietary choices.

Some common eating disorders include:

The symptoms a person with an eating disorder experiences vary depending on the eating disorder they have. However, some signs of an eating disorder may include:

  • preoccupation with body weight, food, or body shape
  • extreme restrictions on food
  • consuming extremely large meals in a specific period
  • intense fear of gaining weight
  • eating rapidly during a binge eating episode
  • eating when not hungry or until uncomfortably full

Obesity can develop for various reasons, but the most common is an energy imbalance. This occurs when a person eats more calories than they need during the day, and the body stores that extra energy as fat and glycogen. If a person regularly eats more calories than what they burn, they can become overweight and eventually develop obesity over time.

Some factors that can contribute to obesity include:

  • unhealthy dietary habits
  • lack of physical activity
  • not getting enough sleep
  • stress
  • genetics

Having an eating disorder, such as night eating syndrome or binge eating disorder, can cause an energy imbalance and increase body weight over time.

The causes of eating disorders can be a combination of psychological and environmental factors, but genetics can also play a role in these conditions. This may include:

  • difficulty managing stress
  • perfectionism
  • difficulty controlling feelings
  • depression or anxiety
  • obsessive or compulsive emotions
  • abuse
  • difficult family relationships
  • pressure at school or work
  • receiving criticism about eating habits or body shape
  • having a job or hobby that promotes being thin as ideal

People who are overweight can have eating disorders. For example, certain eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder, can cause overweight and obesity.

Also, people may develop eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, because of being overweight. This may happen if they receive criticism about their eating habits or their body shape. Such criticism could lead them to lose weight to unnecessary levels, follow unhealthy dietary restrictions, or develop extreme preoccupation with the food.

Receiving criticism about eating habits or body weight and shape may trigger anorexia, regardless of a person’s actual body weight. It is not uncommon for people with obesity to develop anorexia.

Anorexia is the leading cause of death in people with eating disorders and, in combination with obesity, can cause severe health complications, including organ and heart failure.

Binge-eating causes people to frequently consume unusually large quantities of food even if they are not hungry. People with this condition may eat in secret or alone to avoid embarrassment, as they may feel emotions such as guilt or shame about their eating habits. Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States.

A 2018 study found that 87% of people with binge eating disorder had obesity at some point in their lives. This is because, in comparison to other eating disorders such as bulimia, these periods of recurrent and excessive eating do not include periods of purging or extreme exercise.

Bulimia is a condition that causes people to have frequent episodes in which they eat large amounts of food until feeling uncomfortably full or sick. These episodes include other behaviors to balance the overeating out, such as the misuse of diuretics and laxatives, forced vomiting, or excessive exercise.

People with bulimia may have average weight or be slightly underweight or overweight. However, a 2018 study found that about 33% of people with bulimia nervosa had obesity at one point in their lives.

If obesity relates to an eating disorder, doctors will try to address the underlying cause to treat both obesity and the eating disorder simultaneously. This may include a combination of:

If obesity does not relate to an eating disorder, the doctor usually recommends a personalized exercise and dietary plan to promote weight loss. Following this plan ensures that the energy balance is in deficit, burning more calories than what the food eaten provides.

Sometimes, the doctor may prescribe medications in combination with the dietary plan to help a person lose weight more efficiently. Healthcare professionals may suggest surgery for removing excess skin.

Weight stigma is an ongoing issue. This refers to when someone receives judgment because of their weight. This often stems from weight bias, which consists of negative beliefs about people based on their size.

This may also lead to diet culture, in which the ideas of what is right and wrong when it comes to weight are evident, leading to unconscious bias and discriminatory treatment against people who are different, creating a stigma.

Weight stigma may contribute to the development of eating disorders from the early stages of life, including childhood. If not promptly treated, people may develop long-term eating habits that can harm their health.

People with eating disorders should consider speaking with a doctor to receive appropriate treatment and learn how to manage their condition. The doctor may also recommend joining a support group or a community as part of the treatment and recovery from an eating disorder.

Several nonprofit organizations and charities offer support to individuals with eating disorders and their loved ones, including:

Obesity support

Many nonprofit organizations also provide support to those who have obesity, such as:

Obesity is not an eating disorder, but it can cause or be the result of unhealthy eating habits. Obesity is a serious health condition that develops when a person has high levels of excess fat in their body, which can cause severe health complications, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States and is often associated with obesity. About 87% of people with binge eating disorder have had obesity at some point in their lives. However, people with obesity can also have or develop bulimia and anorexia.