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Binge Eating Scale

The BES is a 16-item questionnaire assessing the presence of certain binge eating behaviors which may be indicative of an eating disorders.

3 minutes to complete

Eligibility

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is typically used to assess the severity of binge eating symptoms in adults over the age of 18.

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Questions for Binge Eating Scale

Questions

1.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t feel self-conscious about my weight or body size when I’m with others.
  2. I feel concerned about how I look to others, but it normally does not make me feel disappointed with myself.
  3. I do get self-conscious about my appearance and weight which makes me feel disappointed in myself.
  4. I feel very self-conscious about my weight and frequently, I feel intense shame and disgust for myself. I try to avoid social contacts because of my self-consciousness.
2.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t have any difficulty eating slowly in the proper manner.
  2. Although I seem to “gobble down” foods, I don’t end up feeling stuffed because of eating too much.
  3. At times, I tend to eat quickly and then, I feel uncomfortably full afterwards.
  4. I have the habit of bolting down my food, without really chewing it. When this happens I usually feel uncomfortably stuffed because I’ve eaten too much.
3.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I feel capable to control my eating urges when I want to.
  2. I feel like I have failed to control my eating more than the average person.
  3. I feel utterly helpless when it comes to feeling in control of my eating urges.
  4. Because I feel so helpless about controlling my eating I have become very desperate about trying to get in control.
4.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t have the habit of eating when I’m bored.
  2. I sometimes eat when I’m bored, but often I’m able to “get busy” and get my mind off food.
  3. I have a regular habit of eating when I’m bored, but occasionally, I can use some other activity to get my mind off eating.
  4. I have a strong habit of eating when I’m bored. Nothing seems to help me break the habit.
5.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I’m usually physically hungry when I eat something.
  2. Occasionally, I eat something on impulse even though I really am not hungry.
  3. I have the regular habit of eating foods, that I might not really enjoy, to satisfy a hungry feeling even though physically, I don’t need the food.
  4. Although I’m not physically hungry, I get a hungry feeling in my mouth that only seems to be satisfied when I eat a food, like a sandwich, that fills my mouth. Sometimes, when I eat the food to satisfy my mouth hunger, I then spit the food out so I won’t gain weight.
6.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t feel any guilt or self-hate after I overeat.
  2. After I overeat, occasionally I feel guilt or self-hate.
  3. Almost all the time I experience strong guilt or self-hate after I overeat.
7.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t lose total control of my eating when dieting even after periods when I overeat.
  2. Sometimes when I eat a “forbidden food” on a diet, I feel like I “blew it” and eat even more.
  3. Frequently, I have the habit of saying to myself, “I’ve blown it now, why not go all the way” when I overeat on a diet. When that happens I eat even more.
  4. I have a regular habit of starting strict diets for myself, but I break the diets by going on an eating binge. My life seems to be either a “feast” or “famine.”
8.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I rarely eat so much food that I feel uncomfortably stuffed afterwards.
  2. Usually about once a month, I eat such a quantity of food, I end up feeling very stuffed.
  3. I have regular periods during the month when I eat large amounts of food, either at mealtime or at snacks.
  4. I eat so much food that I regularly feel quite uncomfortable after eating and sometimes a bit nauseous.
9.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. My level of calorie intake does not go up very high or go down very low on a regular basis.
  2. Sometimes after I overeat, I will try to reduce my caloric intake to almost nothing to compensate for the excess calories I’ve eaten.
  3. I have a regular habit of overeating during the night. It seems that my routine is not to be hungry in the morning but overeat in the evening.
  4. In my adult years, I have had week-long periods where I practically starve myself. This follows periods when I overeat. It seems I live a life of either “feast or famine.”
10.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I usually am able to stop eating when I want to. I know when “enough is enough.”
  2. Every so often, I experience a compulsion to eat which I can’t seem to control.
  3. Frequently, I experience strong urges to eat which I seem unable to control, but at other times I can control my eating urges.
  4. I feel incapable of controlling urges to eat. I have a fear of not being able to stop eating voluntarily.
11.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t have any problem stopping eating when I feel full.
  2. I usually can stop eating when I feel full but occasionally overeat leaving me feeling uncomfortably stuffed.
  3. I have a problem stopping eating once I start and usually I feel uncomfortably stuffed after I eat a meal.
  4. Because I have a problem not being able to stop eating when I want, I sometimes have to induce vomiting to relieve my stuffed feeling.
12.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I seem to eat just as much when I’m with others (family, social gatherings) as when I’m by myself.
  2. Sometimes, when I’m with other persons, I don’t eat as much as I want to eat because I’m self-conscious about my eating.
  3. Frequently, I eat only a small amount of food when others are present, because I’m very embarrassed about my eating.
  4. I feel so ashamed about overeating that I pick times to overeat when I know no one will see me. I feel like a “closet eater.”
13.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I eat three meals a day with only an occasional between meal snack.
  2. I eat 3 meals a day, but I also normally snack between meals.
  3. When I am snacking heavily, I get in the habit of skipping regular meals.
  4. There are regular periods when I seem to be continually eating, with no planned meals.
14.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t think much about trying to control unwanted eating urges.
  2. At least some of the time, I feel my thoughts are pre-occupied with trying to control my eating urges.
  3. I feel that frequently I spend much time thinking about how much I ate or about trying not to eat anymore.
  4. It seems to me that most of my waking hours are pre-occupied by thoughts about eating or not eating. I feel like I’m constantly struggling not to eat.
15.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I don’t think about food a great deal.
  2. I have strong cravings for food but they last only for brief periods of time.
  3. I have days when I can’t seem to think about anything else but food.
  4. Most of my days seem to be pre-occupied with thoughts about food. I feel like I live to eat.
16.

Choose one

The answer should be a single choice:
  1. I usually know whether or not I’m physically hungry. I take the right portion of food to satisfy me.
  2. Occasionally, I feel uncertain about knowing whether or not I’m physically hungry. At these times it’s hard to know how much food I should take to satisfy me.
  3. Even though I might know how many calories I should eat, I don’t have any idea what is a “normal” amount of food for me.

Scales Similar to Binge Eating Scale

  • Binge Eating Disorder Scale (BEDS)
  • Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS)
  • Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)

Here are some FAQs and additional information
on
Binge Eating Scale

What is the Binge Eating Scale (BES)?

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a self-report measure of binge eating behavior. It consists of items that assess the frequency of binge eating. It assesses the severity of binge eating symptoms and provides a measure of the frequency and severity of binge eating.

Who should use the BES?

The BES can be used by individuals who are concerned about their binge eating behavior or by clinicians who are working with individuals who may be suffering from binge eating disorder.

How is the BES scored?

The BES is scored by assigning a score to each item on the scale. The total score is the sum of all item scores. Higher scores indicate more frequent and severe binge eating.

What is a high score?

A score of 16 or higher on the BES is considered a high score and may indicate the presence of a binge eating disorder.

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