About six in 100 Danish adults with type 2 diabetes reported symptoms of binge eating, and those who did were more often women, more often severely obese, and had been diagnosed with diabetes about eight years younger than their peers, according to a cross-sectional study published online October 3, 2026, in Diabetic Medicine, the journal of Diabetes UK. The findings were reported by Medical Xpress on October 19.
Researchers led by Pernille Fiil Nybo of the University of Southern Denmark and Steno Diabetes Center Odense surveyed 2,459 adults enrolled in the cohort of the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (DD2) using the Binge Eating Disorder Questionnaire (BED-Q), a validated nine-item online screening tool based on DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria. Survey answers were linked to Danish national health registers to obtain information on well-being, comorbidities, treatment and blood results.
In all, 72 participants (2.9%) screened positive for binge eating disorder (BED) symptoms, and a further 76 (3.1%) reported subclinical symptoms, binge eating about as often but without the high level of distress required for a positive screen, Medical Xpress reported. The median age at diabetes diagnosis was 51.8 years among those with BED symptoms, compared with 59.5 years among those without.
Using Poisson regression, the authors estimated that binge eating symptoms were more than 11 times as prevalent among people with severe obesity (a body mass index of 35 kg/m² or higher) as among those of normal weight (prevalence ratio 11.37; 95% CI, 2.78–46.49). Women were 54% more likely than men to report symptoms (prevalence ratio 1.54; 95% CI, 1.12–2.10), and people with lower well-being scores were 83% more likely (prevalence ratio 1.83; 95% CI, 1.15–2.92). Affected participants were also more likely to have depression or anxiety and to use antidepressants, according to Medical Xpress. Funding for the study is not stated in the abstract or the news report.
Why it matters
Estimates of how common binge eating is among people with type 2 diabetes have varied widely. Previous studies have put the prevalence of BED in this group anywhere from 2.5% to 29.6%, against a lifetime prevalence of 1.9% in the general population, Medical Xpress reported, and depression affects up to a quarter of people with type 2 diabetes. The new study offers a population-based estimate from a large national cohort, with register-linked clinical data rather than self-report alone, and it places the figure at the lower end of that range while still well above the general population.
The subclinical group matters as well. Those participants reported binge eating about as often as the people who screened positive, but without the distress that distinguishes the disorder; together the two groups account for about 6% of the cohort, a figure that, the authors conclude, supports greater clinical awareness.
The authors conclude that BED symptoms are associated with a distinct clinical and psychosocial profile in this population and call for clinical awareness, particularly among women, people with obesity, those with lower well-being and those diagnosed with diabetes at a younger age. For clinicians, the practical implication is that eating disorder symptoms may be present in patients whose weight and glucose control are the focus of consultations, and that a nine-item questionnaire can identify many of them. The link between the two conditions, Medical Xpress noted, needs further research.
The caveats
The study is cross-sectional, so it can show associations but not whether binge eating contributes to earlier diabetes or whether diabetes and its treatment affect eating. The BED-Q is a screening tool; a positive screen is not a clinical diagnosis, which requires an interview. The confidence interval around the obesity estimate is wide, from 2.78 to 46.49, so the size of that association is uncertain even though its direction is clear. The response rate is not reported in the abstract, people who chose to complete an online questionnaire may differ from those who did not, and the cohort is Danish, so prevalence may differ in other populations and health systems. The paper is peer reviewed and is currently online ahead of print.
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