Developmental and cultural aspects of binge eating

Research on binge eating has focused on construct definition, and development/refinement of etiological models with more of a personlevel focus and with less focus on other levels of organization. In childhood and adolescence, defining the consumption of a large amount of food can be difficult due to lack of autonomy and developmental growth, leading some researchers to use loss of control over eating as a more objective criterion. Among youth, existing research suggests parenting style, peer influences, and attachment styles may predispose individuals to the eventual development of binge eating. While, parental comments and food environment increase risk for binge eating. The second half of this chapter is dedicated to discussing binge eating across marginalized populations. Prevalence rates of binge eating across race/ethnicity, food insecurity, and sexual minorities are provided. Research on minority stress framework that highlights perceived environmental threats (e.g., cultural stereotypes, prejudice), minority stressors (e.g., discrimination, weight bias stigma) as contributors to social isolation and rejection, and negative affect, which in turn, leads to binge eating, is discussed. Further, risk factor research on discrimination and weight bias are discussed. It is hoped that future research will focus more on under what conditions for whom does binge eating develop.