A new treatment method is being investigated which could alert people to their binge-eating ways.

Researchers in the United States are conducting tests of smartphone apps which chime-in when eating becomes binging.

One program will track users’ individual patterns of eating and binge-eating behaviour and alert them at times when they are at risk for binge behaviours, among a number of other features.

In a joint study a second program teaches patients psychological strategies to deal with the discomfort associated with traditional binge-stopping treatments.

A recent study has shown the rapidly expanding waistlines of the US and other countries, with ‘binge eating disorder’ identified as an official diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and found to be about twice as common as bulimia nervosa.

Among binge eaters, “there is a cycle of sorts – mounting pressure toward a binge episode, with certain triggers that make it more likely that a binge episode will occur,” Dr. Evan Forman, a professor of psychology says. Therapy normally involves teaching a patient to understand and prevent these triggers – soon there will be an app to help as well.

Dr Forman’s lab is developing “TakeControl” a mobile application which allows users to record their binge-eating activity and urges, multiple mood states and whether they are eating regular meals and taking their prescription medications. As the program learns about an individual’s patterns of binge-eating behaviour and their triggers, it can prompt them with a warning alert when their personal risk is high.

“It could be an emotion like rejection, loneliness, sadness or anxiety, or something external such as passing a certain convenience store, or a time of day or night,” said Forman, who is the principal investigator of the project.

“Most users have their smartphone with them upwards of 20 hours a day, so a mobile app can be a very effective way to monitor behaviors that a physician wouldn’t automatically know about,” said Gaurav Naik, a co-investigator on the project from an engineering firm.

“By combining [our] knowledge of engineering systems that can learn from data, and the clinical knowledge of our partners in psychology, we can develop an app that we hope can generate successful outcomes. “