Binge Eating Disorder: A Common Eating Disorder

Heavy eating or snacking of unusually large amounts of food and feeling guilty about it is a sign of a common eating disorder called binge eating disorder. The disorder is more commonly found among people who are obese; nevertheless, they are also found to have affected people with healthy weights, as well. The disorder is most commonly found among women, but it is estimated that a fair number of men also get this disorder.

Binge eating disorder is a phenomenon wherein people eat much more than they normally do, because of the loss of control over the amount of food intake, to the extent that they can't stop eating. For them, the food would at first only provide sustenance or comfort. However, this would later turn into the focus of guilt and distress. This is a result of a pattern of eating which they develop, which usually consists of eating unusually large amounts of food quickly and without control, and in a regular manner.

Not all occurrences of unusually heavy eating may be characterized as a binge disorder. Binge disorder must be distinguished from a healthy appetite. Some occurrences of heavy eating are legitimate effects of certain physiological events. For example, kids, during their growth years, may eat a lot because at this stage they need more nutrients to fuel their growing bodies. Thus, determining the existence of a binge disorder might be tricky.

There are, however, a few tell-tale signs of binge disorder such as eating a lot of food too quickly, a pattern of eating in response to emotional stress, a feeling of shame after eating a hefty amount of food, and an irregular eating pattern like eating at midnight.

The cause of the binge eating disorder has not been established, although it has been observed that a lot of people who contract this disorder are those who suffer from emotional unrest. Doctors and medical experts say that the disorder is sometimes triggered by emotional problems such as depression and anxiety.

While binge eating might seem to provide satisfaction and sudden contentment, it should always be known that it will bring negative effects in the long run as it provides an unhealthy eating habit. To prevent the consequences brought by binge eating, we should always take control of our eating habits and not let our food control us.

Sources:
"Binge Eating Disorder", Rush.edu
"Binge Eating Disorder", Epigee.org