Binge-eating a serious disorder

Binge-eating disorder is a condition in which you regularly eat large amounts of food within a couple of hours or less (a binge). You feel you can’t control the binges, and you feel unhappy about them afterward.
Unlike bulimia, if you have binge eating disorder, you don’t vomit or try other ways to get rid of calories after you binge. However, you might try to restrict your food intake between binges.
Binge-eating disorder sometimes is called compulsive over-eating.
Over time, many people who have binge-eating disorder gain weight and have problems related to being obese. However, some people who binge have a normal weight.
People with binge-eating disorder also often have depression, anxiety, or other emotional problems.
Having an eating disorder is not a sign of weakness or a character flaw, and it’s not something you can overcome with just willpower. Many people struggle with these complex, long-term conditions and need treatment to get better.
If you have binge-eating disorder or another eating disorder, treatment can prevent health problems, help you feel better about yourself, and improve the quality of your life.
Experts are not sure what causes binge-eating disorder. It might run in families. Some think cultural attitudes about body shape and weight also play a role in eating disorders.
Anxiety, depression, or stress can trigger bingeing in some people.
What are the symptoms?
From time to time, most of us feel like we have eaten more than we should. However, eating too much is only one symptom of binge-eating disorder.
If you have the condition, you eat when you are not hungry or for emotional reasons, such as being sad, angry, lonely, or bored.
During a binge, you might feel that you can’t stop eating, eat very quickly, or eat so much that you feel painfully full. After bingeing, you might feel upset, guilty, or depressed.
You often might eat alone because you are embarrassed about how much you eat.
A doctor can diagnose binge-eating disorder by doing a physical examination and asking questions about your medical history and eating habits.
Your doctor also might ask you questions about your mental health and your attitudes toward food and the shape of your body.
Treatment for binge-eating disorder includes counselling, medicines such as antidepressants, or a combination of the two. You might need treatment over a long period of time to fully recover.
You also might need treatment for other conditions that often occur with binge-eating disorder. This can include depression, obesity, or problems related to being overweight.
Who gets binge-eating disorder?
Binge-eating disorder usually starts in the late teen to young adult years. It is more common in women than men (it affects as many as one in 50 females).
It also is estimated that one-fourth of people who are obese have binge-eating disorder.
Binge-eating disorder can be triggered by dieting, depression, anxiety, boredom, or even stress, which then is relieved with binge-eating. Your risk of developing this condition increases if:
•your parents are overweight;
•you are a perfectionist (this means you feel like you have to do everything exactly right all the time);
•you have a poor body image (this means that you do not like the way your body looks); and/or
•you live in a culture that values being thin.
Editor’s note: Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Feb. 4-10.