When people binge eat, processed foods like cake, cookies, ice cream, and chocolate consistently show up—and a new study suggests that’s no coincidence.
An analysis of more than four decades of research reveals that highly processed foods are not just common in binge-eating episodes—they are nearly universal.
Understanding this pattern is critical, the researchers say, because it could reshape how clinicians, families, and policymakers approach prevention and treatment.
Other findings from the study, which appears in the International Journal of Eating Disorders:
- Across 50 years of research, binge episodes overwhelmingly involve highly processed foods: In the review of 41 studies spanning 1973 to 2023, about 70% of the foods reported during binge episodes were highly processed, while minimally processed foods made up only about 15%. It is extremely rare for people to binge on minimally processed foods alone.
- Binge eating emerged as a clinical problem at the same time highly processed foods took over the food supply: Binge eating did not begin appearing in the scientific literature until the 1970s—around the same time highly processed foods became increasingly dominant in the food environment. Yet, eating disorder research has rarely examined how the foods themselves might contribute to binge eating.
- The most common binge foods are highly processed products engineered to be especially rewarding: The same foods appear again and again over decades during binge episodes—cake, ice cream, cookies, chocolate, pastries, pizza, and chips. These foods are typically highly processed and designed with ingredient combinations—such as refined carbohydrates and fats—that make them especially rewarding and easy to overconsume.
- The study highlights a major blind spot in eating disorder research. For decades, binge eating has been studied primarily as a psychological or behavioral problem, with far less attention to the foods themselves. The findings suggest the nature of the foods consumed may be an important piece of the puzzle, particularly in environments where highly processed foods are widely available.
Coauthors of this study are from University of Michigan, the University of Kansas, and Michigan State University.
Source: University of Michigan
