Expert: Ryan Hale - 5/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: this is not anorexia...but it IS an eating disorder.  How can i find out if there are other people who get up in the middle of the night regularly and they HAVE to eat like two or three bowls of cereal. If this person tries not to eat..she just tosses and turns as if something imperative has not been completed. Only after eating can she go back to sleep. It happens every single night...its not real hunger, because she eats during the day.  is there a name for this..is there any treatment. please advise...thank you so much.

ANSWER: Queenie-midnight eating is actually in the same category as binge eating, although it is not considered binge eating.  In around 15% of individuals seeking weight loss treatment, patients report night eating.  In around 30% of those seeking gastric by-pass treatment, there is a history of night eating.  This should not be confused with the nocturnal eating that some people do without actually waking up.  Nearly every case of midnight eating involves someone who is obese, but not always.  Treatment includes the same treatment for obesity, and focuses on eating during the day and spreading out the calories, since most night eaters don't eat more than they normally would, they just eat at night.  In other words, most over weight night eaters may eat 5,000 calories during a 24 hr period, however, if their behavior can be changed, they will continue eating that amount of calories, just in between 6am and 10 pm.

Your description is that this person does eat during the day.  Do they tend to skip breakfast though?  And, even if they do eat throughout the day, if they are restricting during that time, they could be making up the calories at night.  It's hard for me to tell.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: follow up--no she doesn't skip breakfast and is not limited in the ability to eat during normal hours...she is not overweight because she is very careful during the day and gets regular exercise. Its not about being truly hungry or in need of calories...its about an anxious nervous need to get out of bed, go into the kitchen, pour the cereal and EAT IT. she is fully awake.   thank you.

Answer
She is not typical of those who eat at night then.  Does she have thoughts or behaviors one would associate with obsessive compulsive disorder or anxiety?  In other words, does she have other thoughts or behaviors that make no sense to others (she may even admit that it is strange) but cannot stop doing those thoughts/behaviors no matter what she tries?  Or, does she have panic attacks or unexplained fear about something she can't put her finger on, although the fear is still real?