Delay Discounting Clinical Implication for BED Treatment

Abstract

Binge Eating Disorder (BED), a common eating disorder appearing in people in their late 20s, shows a symptom of consuming an unusual amount of food in a short amount of time. BED is usually defined as repeated episodes of binge eating accompanied by feelings of loss of control and distress, but unlike bulimia nervosa (BN), BED does not involve inappropriate compensatory behaviors to maintain weight, such as excessive dieting or exercise. Research has already begun to look at the neural mechanisms of overeating. This paper focuses on the finding of a new treatment for BED patient without the usage of medication. The proposed methods are using stimuli and therapy to regulate the focus of the patients’ eating behavior, self-evaluation, and social behaviors. The results obtained from the research included the effect of delay discounting of each method of treatment on the patient. The findings indicated that reducing delay discounting has clinical implications for the treatment of BED.