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Binge eating disorder (BED) is severe and can be life-threatening. It is, however, a treatable eating disorder characterised by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food, a feeling of a loss of control during the binge, eating continuously without feeling hungry, experiencing embarrassment, feeling disgusted, depressed or guilty afterwards.
Almost everyone overeats on occasions, such as having a second or third helping while on a holiday but compared to other eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa that are usually present in teenage or adolescent years, binge eating disorder can be present in individuals of all age groups.
Soaring up as one of the latest eating disorders of the millennium, this disorder can have a huge impact on an entire generation with regard to overall health, longevity, quality of life, etc. Many young children, adolescents and those who are in their 20s and 30s tend to binge-eat due to the large variety of junk food available these days.
Diagnosing BED
You may have no obvious physical signs or symptoms when you have a binge eating disorder. You may be overweight or obese, or you may be at a normal weight. However, you are likely to have numerous behavioural and emotional signs and symptoms, such as recurrent episodes of binge-eating. An episode of binge eating is characterised by both of the following:
Eating, in a discrete period of time (within any two-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances. A sense of lack of control and overeating during the episode.
Binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:
Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
Eating large amounts of food when not feeling hungry.
Eating alone because of a feeling of embarrassment for how much one is eating.
Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, ashamed or very guilty afterwards.
Experiencing depression and anxiety.
Identify the disorder
The causes of this potential, ‘compulsive eating’ health hazard could be biological in origin such as obesity/other hormonal disturbances that trigger exaggerated eating, depression, bipolar disorder or social like poor quality of work, hitches, snags or nags at the workplace. This is a result of a combination of psychological, biological and environmental factors.
Complications and risks
The aftermath of binge eating can signify corollaries ranging from risk for heart failure, reduced, resting metabolism, slower digestion, inadequate nutrition/malnutrition to a formal threat to life. When you overeat, you end up with a sore, stuffed belly. Everyone feels like this from time to time. But if you have a binge eating disorder, your eating habits could lead to serious problems that might last a lifetime.
Weight gain & obesity
Breathing problems especially at night (sleep apnea)
Heart disease
Emotional and mental distress
Type II diabetes mellitus
High blood pressure
Arthritis
Prevention & treatment
Although it might not be possible to prevent all cases of binge-eating, it is best to begin treatment once the symptoms are obvious. In addition, teaching and encouraging healthy eating habits and realistic attitudes about food and body image also might be helpful in preventing the development or worsening of eating disorders. It can also be managed in other ways.
Psychotherapy is considered to a large extent because it involves an effective blend of cognitive therapy (better understanding and interpretation of situations) and behavioural therapy (meaningful impact on improved behaviour). This can result in better outcome due to a personalised / tailor-made approach.
Family counselling
All members of the immediate family need to be supportive to rule out feelings of ‘not being wanted’ in the family.
Group therapy is one of the ways to address the issue as sharing of common feelings and experiences amongst those with similar behavioural responses can go a long way.
Bingeing literally needs to be curtailed without compromising on the quality, variety, satiety of the food.
Motivation for mindful eating can help to a great extent.
(The author is chief nutritionist, Cloudnine group of Hospitals)