Weight-loss drugs could offer a “promising treatment” for people struggling with binge eating disorder, according to the most comprehensive review to date.
The researchers found that these medications also help with “related behaviors,” including encouraging greater control over eating and reducing emotional eating.
However, experts cautioned that current evidence remains limited and urged more trials to definitively confirm these findings.
Binge eating disorder affects approximately 17 million people worldwide and is characterized by regularly consuming large amounts of food in a short period until feeling uncomfortably full. NHS.uk describes it as a “serious mental health condition where people eat without feeling in control of what they do.”
The research, led by experts from the Division of Psychiatry at University College London, meticulously analyzed data from 25 randomized controlled trials involving 8,069 participants.
The study revealed that people with binge eating disorder who were given GLP-1 medications, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, reported “moderate reductions in binge eating.”
They also reported a reduction in “loss of eating control” and “disinhibition” in eating.
And they reported lower levels of emotional eating.
But the authors stressed that all of the studies examined as part of the review have a “high risk or some bias concerns.”
“GLP-1RAs reduced behaviors related to binge eating and emotional eating and increased cognitive or dietary restraint,” the authors wrote in the journal eClinicalMedicine.
Corresponding author Dr Ilaria Costantini, a researcher in psychiatric epidemiology at UCL, told the Press Association: “Overall, we found that people who received GLP-1 receptor agonists reported fewer binge eating symptoms than those in the comparison groups.
“We also found improvements in related behaviors, including greater control over eating, lower levels of eating disinhibition, and a reduction in emotional eating.
“Our findings suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists may represent a promising treatment option for binge eating disorder.
“However, our review cannot conclude that these medications are effective treatments for binge eating disorder or that they should be routinely prescribed for this indication.
“This is because only a small number of relatively small studies specifically recruited people with a diagnosis of binge eating disorder, and these studies generally had a higher risk of bias.
“As a result, it is not yet clear whether the benefits we observed will translate to people living with obesity and binge eating disorder in routine clinical practice.”
He added: “Before these medications can be considered for routine clinical use in binge eating disorder, we need large, high-quality clinical trials specifically involving people with a diagnosis of the disorder.
“Ultimately, these medications may be more effective as part of a broader treatment approach that combines pharmacological and psychological care, rather than as a stand-alone treatment.”
Umairah Malik, research director at the Beat charity, commented on the study: “The relationship between eating disorder symptoms and GLP-1 is extremely complex – we cannot yet be sure how or if they may affect eating disorder outcomes.
“While more research is needed, it is promising that there are some indications that GLP-1 may be part of the treatment of binge eating disorder in the coming years.
“LPG-1s have been touted as a quick, miracle fix, but we know they also have the potential to cause serious harm in the wrong hands.
“Anyone who wants to start taking them should undergo extensive physical and mental health checks, ideally in person, with a health professional trained to look for signs of eating disorders.”
