Binge Eating Disorders Doubles In Australia
The number of Australians with eating disorders has doubled in the past decade and experts blame obesity hysteria.
Currently, almost five per cent - one in 20 people - suffer from either binge-eating disorder or other extreme fasting and purging behaviours.
This is a major leap from the two per cent recorded ten years earlier.
Binge eaters engaged in behavior that included fasting, purging and the use of laxatives to control weight. These conditions affect the sufferers' lives and they have not been able to function properly.
It has been found that women were five times more likely to have a disorder than men. The study however noted a sharp rise in males with particulary bingeing problems.
Psychiatrists blame the increased media hype about obesity, dieting and body shape. While it is true that people are getting heavier and need to lose weight, there is the other side of the problem if the obesity epidemic is not monitored carefully.
It may just be the case of swinging from one extreme form of eating behavior to the other. The fear is that moderation and healthy balanced diet may get forgotten in the process. 
Tags: Eating Disorders, Binge Eating