Are you a secret night binger?

Are you a secret night binger?. Do you often wake up in the middle of the night and head straight for the fridge? Do you skip breakfast because you're so busy and see eating as a nuisance?

If this sounds all too familiar, you could be suffering from little-known condition Night Eating Syndrome (NES).

Although most people in Britain have never heard of it, research shows that 1.5 per cent of the population is affected. Many experts fear the figure is much higher.

Sufferers wake up around three times a night and head straight for the kitchen to eat high-carbohydrate snacks such as bread, cake or crisps.

The typical night eater skips breakfast and eats little during the day, but consumes over half their daily calorie intake after dinner.

And while night eaters do not gorge themselves, they consume around 500 calories a day more than normal eaters and tend to be overweight.

Unlike sufferers of bulimia nervosa, night eaters do not vomit. Instead they feel guilty and experience self-disgust.

Doctors believe those affected actually suffer from three separate disorders relating to eating, sleeping and hormones.

One of the world's NES experts, Dr Albert Stunkard, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, says the newly-discovered illness is triggered by changes in hormone levels.

He believes sufferers unconsciously crave foods which help their brains produce the chemical serotonin - which helps them sleep.

'Night eaters tend to be self-medicating. They snack on high carbohydrate foods which stimulate serotonin and acts on sleep sensors in the brain,' he said.

Tests have shown that people with the condition also have low levels of two hormones, melatonin and leptin.

The body normally produces more melatonin at night when light fades, aiding sleep. Leptin, a hormone produced in the fat cells, is usually also produced at night to suppress appetite and promote sleep.

Because NES sufferers have lower than normal levels of these hormones their bodies wake them up and leave them hungry during the night.

'I believe anxiety also triggers the condition because sufferers experience a high level of the stress hormone cortisol,' said Dr Stunkard. 'I also see a pattern in family histories so I'm beginning to think NES is genetic.'

In an attempt to understand the condition more fully, Dr Stunkard has just launched a six-month study into the illness.

'So far 80 people in just two months have come forward which indicates that night eating is out there,' he said. 'There is no known treatment for NES and my aim is to develop a treatment.'

Dr Jill Welbourne, a specialist in eating disorders says: 'Night eaters are usually people leading hectic lifestyles and see eating as an unnecessary inconvenience,' she said.

'If you don't give your body fuel within an hour of getting up - your energy levels become disrupted. I can't emphasise enough how important it is to eat breakfast.'

Are you a night eater? Here are the signs and symptoms to look out for

• Night eaters have little, or no appetite for breakfast. They will delay their first meal for several hours after waking up.

• Night eaters consume more than half of their daily food intake after dinner.

• Sufferers experience fragmented sleep, wake up every one or two hours and head straight for the fridge.

• Night eaters feel tense, anxious or guilty when eating at night. ( dailymail.co.uk )