Researchers from the University of Southern California (US) have found that children suffering from binge eating disorders (BED) have an increased proportion of grey matter densities indicative of abnormal brain development. “In children with binge eating disorder, we see abnormality in brain development in brain regions specifically linked to reward and impulsivity, or the ability to inhibit reward,” said lead author Stuart Murray from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “These kids have a very, very heightened reward sensitivity, especially toward calorically dense, high-sugar foods. The findings underscore the fact that this is not a lack of discipline for these kids.” Murray and his team analysed MRI brain scans of 71 children aged 9 to 10 suffering from binge eating and 74 children at the same age without the condition. The team focussed on the areas of the brain related to reward and impulsivity, analysing children’s orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which …