Binge eating is basically an ‘expressive disorder’. This means that the disorder is more or less an expression of other psychological illnesses like depression, anxiety or trauma associated with childhood abuse. Therefore, a thorough psychological assessment may be done by a counselor to ascertain whether an individual with symptoms of BED has other psychological disorder that may have resulted in binge eating behavior.

Neuroimaging is a set of non-invasive medical procedures that check different regions of brain for any possible lesions, tumors or injuries that might have resulted in BED. Tests like PET Scan or MRI may be used for this purpose.

A physical examination could be conducted to check whether the patient may have any kind of disease associated with binge eating disorder and obesity. Generally, individuals who have been suffering from BED for a long period may have diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart ailments. These tests may be invasive or non-invasive but they require just one visit to the doctor.

The psychiatrist may perform some non-invasive, psychological tests to understand whether a person is suffering from depression. This is because an individual (particularly females) suffering from depression tends to develop binge eating disorder more often than a person not suffering from depression.

A patient may be observed by the clinician over a period of time. The clinician may observe the signs of binge eating disorder. During this time, the clinician will also try to assess whether the person has binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa. This will be done by noticing whether the patient purges or involves himself/herself in strenuous exercises.

An individual may be interviewed by the psychotherapist or a counselor who tries to understand the eating habits of the person. The interview is focused on how much an individual eats normally and how much he/she eats during a binge episode. The interview may require two or more visits to the clinician who tries to assess whether the signs and symptoms are caused due to binge eating disorder.

This is a self-report measure wherein an individual, who apparently suffers from BED is required to fill a questionnaire that can assess whether a person has BED or not. This questionnaire includes questions that pertains to an individual’s eating habits and his/her outlook towards food.

Measuring BMI is an efficient method of understanding whether a person has binge eating disorder. BMI or Body Mass Index indicates whether an individual has weight corresponding to his/her height. People with binge eating disorder are usually obese and have BMI over 28. Some of them may also have a lower BMI, but generally people with binge eating disorder have obesity.

A clinician makes a diagnosis on the basis of external symptoms an individual exhibits. A person suffering from binge eating disorder is generally unable to exercise any control over food consumption. Such a person may experience loss of control during binge episodes and may eat unusually large amounts of food at a particular time. During a binge episode, the patient may eat more quickly and far more than an average individual. At times, they may eat until they feel nauseated. Patients with this disorder do not indulge in any exercise and don’t purge through vomiting or laxatives. They may feel depressed and guilty and may experience sudden weight gain.