COMPULSIVE OVEREATING: Does alt.support.eating-disord includes compulsive overeating, or is it limited to anorexia and bulimia?
Yes, certainly a.s.e-d addresses compulsive overeaters, and all people with an eating disorder. See more on this in FAQ 1, DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT. As of April 1995 there is also a group specifically for compulsive overeaters: alt.recovery.compulsive-eat. My understanding is that a diagnosis of compulsive overeating differs from a diagnosis of bulimia mainly in that the compensatory behavior of bulimia (fasting, vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretics, overexercising) is absent, so the compulsive overeater gains weight. Since bulimia is so firmly identified in the public mind with self-induced vomiting only, those who use other compensatory behaviors are very often not identified as bulimics by themselves or others. Many people who call themselves a “compulsive overeater” probably fall within the definition of bulimia. “The Campus Health Guide” (See FAQ 2, BOOKS) has the best summary on diagnosing, treating and preventing eating disorders that I know of. In discussing bulimia, the Guide says
