Night Eating Syndrome

Paul Nison in 'The Daylight Diet'

"The addiction of late-night eating has grown to be a universal
epidemic. Scientists now believe Night Eating Syndrome (NES)
affects up to 27 percent of obese people, and roughly 1.5 percent
of the general population. (From my observation, it seems more
like 95 percent of the population.) It’s so enormously widespread
that it’s now officially a “mood disorder,” which, in my opinion, trivializes
the problem and relieves the patient of any control over
his condition. The patient can now accept the doctor’s diagnosis,
believing any solution is out of his control and absolving him of
any personal responsibility for his problems. This produces fear
and stress in the patient, resulting in further late-night bingeing.
Then doctors prescribe drugs to treat the issue and not the cause,
and, on top of that, the doctor says food must be taken with the
drugs, creating even more overeating.
To make matters even worse, doctors are now implying that
NES is hereditary. Well, yes and no. If the whole family has the
same eating pattern, then they will all suffer from similar diseases.
To a doctor, that may be “hereditary;” in my opinion, it’s a
lifestyle-related condition.