Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge-Eating Disorder

Overeating on occasion is normal, but when it turns into regular, uncontrollable urges and binges, followed by physical and mental repercussions, is when someone may begin to realize they have a problem. I found it interesting that of all the eating disorders, including bulimia and anorexia, this disease is the most common among men and women alike. Binge-eating is characterized by consuming large amounts of food while feeling out of control and incapable of stopping, eating when one is not hungry and continuing even after one is full, and gorging oneself without noticing.

This disease mostly begins to affect people in late adolescence and early adulthood. While food in most overeating situations is used as a comfort tool initially, post binge a person may have feelings of guilt, regret, and depression. This creates a “vicious cycle” in which a person initially eats to feel better, begins to feel even worse (especially when overeating leads to obesity and negative self-body image), and then turns back to food again for help. Unlike other diseases though, binge-eaters do not regularly try to “make up” for the fact that they over consumed calories by excessive exercising, starvation and purging.

Binge-eating has many behavioral and emotional symptoms. According to the website, a few warning signs are eating normally around others and gorging when alone, unplanned mealtimes throughout the day, never feeling satisfied no matter how much you’ve eaten, and using food as a stress relief. Over eating does lead to obesity, which causes problems like type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal problems and cancers, but it could also lead to severe mental and emotional problems as well. Excessive stress, insomnia, anxiety, substance abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts are among the other problems with this disease.

Causes of this disorder could be social, cultural, psychological