Alternative Therapies

According to a National survey, Anorexia and bulimia are two well-known eating disorders, but now a days binge eating is being called America’s most common diet problem. Binge eating  is an eating disorder where the person faces uncontrolled  bouts of  eating, even after being full, at least twice in a week.

The survey found that around 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men suffer from binge eating. Psychiatric researchers at the Harvard University Medical School and its affiliate, McLean Psychiatric Hospital, said the study is the first national census of eating disorders.

It is said that binge eaters face a severe risk of obesity and related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. A binge eater usually has a a full dinner, then some  of ice cream for dessert, then a big  bag of chips, and he goes on without any stop.

“It’s a little bit analogous to something you hear from an alcoholic, when they might say, ‘Well, I wanted to have one drink,’ and they’ve had 12 drinks and they’re passed out on the floor,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “Even though they feel full, even though they feel disgusting and guilty, they can’t stop.”

Dr. James I. Hudson, the study’s lead author and a Harvard Medical School psychiatry professor, said binge eating deserves more recognition from health professionals.”These results argue that binge eating is common. It’s more common than both the other eating disorders combined and it’s strongly associated with obesity,” he explained. “Taken together, these findings suggest that this is an eating disorder and should be treated as such.”

Hudson said that the team interviewed around 9,000 people nationwide from 2001 to 2003 about their eating habits and psychological backgrounds. The study as it seems, underestimates the actual number of eating disorders, because people are often ashamed to accept their abnormal eating habits.

The survey also concludes that it takes people a longer struggle to fight  binge eating. These symptoms continue for around eight years as compared to less than two years for an anorexic patients, who is often young and may recover as they mature.

Men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 are most likely to be diagnosed with this eating disorder, and people older than 60 had the lowest rates of eating problems. The doctors said all three disorders are mood disorders like depression and anxiety.