Binge eating disorder among men and women. The lifetime prevalence of binge eating disorder has been observed in studies to be 2.0 percent for men and 3.5 percent for women, higher than that of the commonly recognized eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Rates of binge eating disorder have also been found to be similar among black women, white women, and white men, while some studies have shown that binge eating disorder is more common among black women than among white women. Though the research on binge eating disorders tends to be concentrated in North America, the disorder occurs across cultures, In
Binge eating disorder medications are superior to placebo in reducing binge eating. Medications are not considered the treatment of choice because psychotherapeutic approaches, such as CBT, are more effective than medications for binge eating disorder. Medications also do not increase the effectiveness of psychotherapy, though some patients may benefit from anticonvulsant and anti-obesity medications, such as Phentermine/topiramate, for weight loss. Bariatric surgery has also been proposed as another approach to treat BED and a recent meta-analysis showed that approximately two-thirds of individuals who seek this type of surgery for weight loss purposes have BED. Bariatric surgery recipients who had BED prior to receiving