Night eating syndrome: a new nursing care plan

Abstract

Night eating syndrome was recently classified as an eating disorder and configured as a syndrome in which a chronodisruption of the body occurs, giving rise to alterations of hormonal and nutritional biorhythms. Although unknown to many health professionals, it has been considered a singular disorder that appears to be closely related to other prevalent disorders of the 21st century such as obesity, anxiety or depression, in which nursing plays a relevant care role. The aim of this review is, after describing its main characteristics, to analyse the nursing role in the diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome within the field of community care. To achieve this aim, a nursing care plan adapted to the “night eater” patient is designed and, after that, the great need to research it in Spain is highlighted, in order to estimate its real prevalence and verify the effectiveness of the proposed nursing care.