Doctors alerted to eating disorder ‘more common than anorexia’
US clinicians are sharing the case of a night-time eating habit that responded well to medication
Doctors are sharing the case of a man with a nocturnal eating disorder to raise awareness of the common yet underdiagnosed condition.
Despite being more prevalent than ‘classic’ eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia, nocturnal eating syndrome (NES) is “often unrecognised”, the US doctors say.
In their case, an elderly man presented to the outpatient sleep centre with ongoing episodes of night-time eating and interrupted sleep occurring 7-8 times per night over an 11-month period.
The patient also reported snoring, sleep apnoea and daytime fatigue.
