Night eating disorder, also known as night eating syndrome, is a condition where a person will tend to eat at least 25% of their daily calories after they have had their evening meal. The condition also results in disturbances in the person’s sleep pattern. A similar condition is sleep related eating disorder (SRED).
The difference in the two is that a person with night eating disorder is aware that he or she is waking up and eating throughout the night but a person with SRED is often oblivious to the waking and eating. A SRED individual can also eat items that are very dangerous for them because of the lack of awareness.
Who gets night eating disorder?
Both men and women suffer from the night eating disorder condition, although it is not usually experienced by children. Around 1-2% of the population is thought to have this condition. It is much more common in people who have a severe weight problem. About 28% of people who have had gastric bypass surgery are believed to experience it. It first tends to affect people in their teens or late twenties.
