BIOLOGICAL REASONS WHY YOU BINGE: HUNGER
Overweight binge eaters have greater and more frequent hunger than overweight nonbinge eaters. This occurs in spite of the fact that overweight individuals in general are less likely to know when they are actually hungry than are people who are not overweight. As I mentioned in the last chapter, your hunger may be more a function of emotions or the availability of food than real hunger.
In spite of this, researchers have measured the gastric capacities of people with binge-eating disorder. Gastric capacity means just what it sounds like—how much your stomach can hold. Chronic overeating results in your stomach being able to hold more. Bulimics have significantly increased gastric capacities. When overweight individuals are tested, binge eaters also have increased gastric capacities but overweight nonbinge eaters do not show this pattern.
When your stomach’s capacity is increased, it takes more food to satisfy you. Over time, your binges may increase in size because you rarely feel full with a moderate amount of food.
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