Binge Eating Scale

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a widely utilized, 16-item self-report measure developed to identify and quantify the severity of binge eating behaviors.

Questions: 16
Duration: 10 min
Original title: BES — Binge Eating Scale
Adaptation: Binge Eating Scale
Authors: Gormally, J., Black, S., Daston, S., & Rardin, D.
Created: 1982

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a widely utilized, 16-item self-report measure developed to identify and quantify the severity of binge eating behaviors. Originally designed to assess excessive eating patterns in obese populations, the scale is now routinely employed across clinical settings to screen for Binge Eating Disorder and monitor its progression over time. It captures a comprehensive picture of the condition by evaluating not only behavioral markers—such as eating rapidly or consuming large quantities of food—but also the deeply entrenched cognitive and emotional responses that accompany these episodes, including intense guilt, loss of control, and food preoccupation.

Because it provides a nuanced severity gradient, the BES serves as a reliable, repeatable metric to gauge symptomatic change throughout treatment. It is an essential aid for intake baselines and outcome tracking, offering clinicians an efficient way to structure conversations around distressing eating patterns and overlapping signs of bulimia.

Example result

Fictitious result, computed from a sample set of answers.

Overall score

24/ 46

The Binge Eating Scale (BES) is a 16-item self-report questionnaire designed to identify and quantify the severity of binge eating symptoms. Initially developed in adults with obesity, it assesses both the behavioural manifestations of binge episodes (amount consumed, rate of ingestion, feelings of fullness) and the associated cognitive-emotional experiences (loss of control, guilt, shame, preoccupation with food, self-disgust). It is used in clinical psychology, psychiatry, nutrition, and pre-bariatric surgery assessments for screening, baseline severity estimation, and monitoring treatment progress.

0–17

Low Binge-Eating

18–26

Mild to Moderate Binge-Eating

27–46

Severe Binge-Eating

Reflecting a moderate level of binge-eating behaviour.

Scoring

Sum of points for selected statements, total score from 0 to 46, item response scoring varies by item (see individual questions).

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What the test measures

The BES evaluates the multidimensional nature of binge eating, capturing the core features that characterize the disorder beyond mere caloric intake. The scale assesses both the physical acts of overeating and the profound distress that follows.

Behavioral manifestations: Eating speed, volume of consumption, eating in secret, and inability to stop eating.
Emotional distress: Feelings of intense guilt, shame, and self-disgust following overeating.
Loss of control: The subjective experience of helplessness over eating urges and the inability to self-regulate portions.
Cognitive preoccupation: Obsessive thoughts about food, body shape, weight, and the all-or-nothing thinking that often drives the binge cycle.

The BES is primarily intended for adults who present with patterns of emotional eating, overeating, or suspected binge eating disorder, particularly in weight management and mental health settings.

When and why to use it

Clinicians implement the BES to structure their evaluation of disordered eating behaviors, clarify clinical impressions, and track symptom fluctuations.

Initial screening: To identify clinically significant binge eating patterns in patients presenting with weight concerns, distinguishing them from simple overindulgence or isolated maladaptive coping strategies.
Establishing a baseline: To quantify the frequency and psychological impact of binge eating before initiating targeted therapeutic interventions.
Monitoring treatment progress: To measure symptomatic change over the course of therapy, ensuring that interventions are effectively reducing both the behavior and the associated distress.
Differential exploration: To facilitate conversations around shame, secrecy, and potential compensatory behaviors that might point to the CBT model of bulimia nervosa.

While the BES effectively categorizes binge eating severity, a high score serves as a strong descriptive clinical indicator rather than a final verdict, adding validated structure to the clinician's overall evaluation.

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The questions

Below are groups of statements about behavior, thoughts, and emotional states. Please indicate which statement in each group best describes how you feel.
1. Perception of your weight and social discomfort
Frames how the patient perceives their body size and the extent of social avoidance driven by weight concerns.
- I don't feel embarrassed by my weight or size when I'm with others.
- I worry about how I look to others, but normally it doesn't make me feel disappointed in myself.
- I feel embarrassed by my appearance and my weight, which makes me feel disappointed in myself.
- I feel very embarrassed by my weight and frequently feel intense shame and self-disgust. I try to avoid social contact because of this embarrassment.
2. Speed of eating and feeling overly full
Assesses the speed of food consumption and the physical sensation of fullness or discomfort after eating.
- I have no difficulty eating slowly and appropriately.
- Although I feel like I 'gobble down' my food, I don't end up feeling overly full from eating too much.
- Sometimes I tend to eat quickly, and then I feel uncomfortably full.
- I have a habit of swallowing my food without really chewing it. When this happens, I usually feel uncomfortably full because I've eaten too much.
3. Control over eating urges
Explores the subjective sense of helplessness versus capability in managing strong eating urges.
- I feel I can control my urges to eat whenever I want.
- I feel I have failed to control my eating behavior more than the average person.
- I feel completely powerless when it comes to feeling in control of my urges to eat.
- Because I feel so powerless to control my eating, I have become desperate to regain control.
4. Eating out of boredom
Evaluates the tendency to use food as a coping mechanism for boredom and the ability to redirect attention.
- I don't have the habit of eating when I'm bored.
- I sometimes eat when I'm bored, but I often manage to keep busy and get food off my mind.
- I have a regular habit of eating when I'm bored, but occasionally I can turn to another activity to get food off my mind.
- I have a strong habit of eating when I'm bored. Nothing seems to help me break it.
5. Physical hunger versus non-physical hunger
Examines the distinction between eating in response to physiological hunger and eating driven by emotional or sensory impulses.
- Usually, when I eat something, it's because I'm physically hungry.
- From time to time, I eat something on impulse, even if I'm not really hungry.
- I have a regular habit of eating foods I don't really enjoy to satisfy a feeling of hunger, even though I don't physically need food.
- Even if I'm not physically hungry, I feel a hunger in my mouth that seems can only be satisfied by eating a food—like a sandwich—that fills my mouth. Sometimes, when I eat to satisfy this 'mouth hunger,' I then spit out the food to avoid gaining weight.
6. Guilt after overeating
Probes the emotional aftermath of overeating, specifically the frequency and intensity of guilt and self-hate.
- I don't feel any guilt or self-hatred after overeating.
- After overeating, I occasionally feel guilt or self-hatred.
- Almost all the time, I feel strong guilt or self-hatred after overeating.
7. Losing control while dieting
Measures the all-or-nothing cognitive pattern that often triggers massive overeating following a minor diet slip.
- I don't completely lose control of my eating when I'm on a diet, even after periods of overeating.
- Sometimes, when I eat a 'forbidden food' while on a diet, I feel like I've 'blown it' and I eat even more.
- Frequently, I have the habit of telling myself, 'I've blown it now, why not go all the way?' when I overeat on a diet. When this happens, I eat even more.
- I have a regular habit of starting strict diets, but I break them by engaging in a binge. My life seems to be made up of only 'feasts' or 'famines'.
8. Frequency of feeling overly full
Quantifies the frequency of eating to the point of uncomfortable or nauseating physical fullness.
- I rarely eat so much food that I feel uncomfortably full right after.
- Usually, about once a month, I happen to eat such a large amount of food that I end up feeling very full.
- I have regular periods during the month when I eat large amounts of food, either at meals or as snacks.
- I eat so much food that I regularly feel quite uncomfortable after eating, and sometimes a little nauseous.
9. Consistency of calorie intake and feast-famine cycle
Investigates the regularity of caloric intake and the presence of erratic feast-and-famine eating cycles.
- My calorie intake doesn't go very high or very low on a regular basis.
- Sometimes, after overeating, I try to reduce my calorie intake to almost nothing to compensate for the excess calories I consumed.
- I have a regular habit of overeating at night. It seems my routine is not being hungry in the morning, but overeating in the evening.
- As an adult, I have had periods of a whole week where I practically starved myself, following periods where I overate. It feels like I'm living a life of either 'feasts' or 'famines'.
10. Ability to stop eating once started
Explores the patient's capacity to recognize satiation and voluntarily cease eating versus experiencing uncontrollable compulsions.
- I am usually able to stop eating when I want to. I know when 'enough is enough'.
- From time to time, I experience a compulsion to eat that I can't seem to control.
- Frequently, I experience strong urges to eat that I seem unable to control, but at other times, I can control my eating urges.
- I feel unable to control my urges to eat. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop eating voluntarily.
11. Difficulty stopping when full
Assesses the difficulty of stopping at a normal level of fullness and the subsequent need for physical relief, including purging.
- I have no problem stopping eating when I feel full.
- I can usually stop eating when I feel full, but occasionally I overeat and it leaves me uncomfortably full.
- I have trouble stopping eating once I've started, and I usually feel uncomfortably full after a meal.
- Because I have the problem of not being able to stop eating when I want, I sometimes have to make myself vomit to relieve the feeling of being too full.
12. Eating behavior around others
Looks at how social contexts influence eating behaviors and the presence of secretive or "closet" eating patterns.
- It seems to me that I eat as much when I'm with others (with family, at social gatherings) as when I'm alone.
- Sometimes, when I'm with other people, I don't eat as much as I'd like because I'm embarrassed by my eating behavior.
- Frequently, I only eat a small amount of food in the presence of others because I'm very embarrassed by my eating behavior.
- I'm so ashamed of overeating that I choose times to overeat when I know no one will see me. I feel like a 'secret eater'.
13. Continuity of food intake throughout the day
Evaluates the continuity and structure of daily food intake, checking for skipped meals replaced by continuous snacking.
- I eat three meals a day, with only an occasional snack between meals.
- I eat three meals a day, but I also normally snack between meals.
- When I snack a lot, I get into the habit of skipping regular meals.
- There are regular periods when I seem to be eating continuously, with no planned meals.
14. Thoughts and preoccupations about food
Explores the mental load and time spent attempting to control or suppress unwanted thoughts about food and eating.
- I don't think much about trying to control unwanted eating urges.
- At least some of the time, I feel my thoughts are preoccupied with trying to control my eating urges.
- I feel that I frequently spend a lot of time thinking about what I've eaten or trying not to eat anymore.
- It seems that most of my waking hours are preoccupied with thoughts about eating or not eating. I feel like I'm constantly struggling not to eat.
15. Awareness of eating
Captures the intensity of food preoccupation and whether the patient feels their life revolves around eating.
- I don't think much about food.
- I have strong cravings for food, but they only last for short periods.
- There are days when it seems I can think of nothing but food.
- Most of my days seem preoccupied with thoughts about food. I feel like I live to eat.
16. Recognizing physical hunger and appropriate portion size
Assesses the patient's ability to accurately identify physiological hunger cues and determine appropriate portion sizes.
- I usually know whether or not I'm physically hungry. I take the right portion of food to satisfy me.
- Occasionally, I'm not sure if I'm physically hungry or not. At those times, it's hard for me to know how much food I would need to satisfy me.
- Even though I may know how many calories I should eat, I have no idea what a 'normal' amount of food is for me.